Insomnia: A Symptom, Not a Disease — How to Recognize It

Sleep is not merely rest. It is a precise indicator of the body's overall condition. Dr. Saulitis is unequivocal: there is no such thing as "just insomnia" — a sleep disturbance is always a symptom. That is precisely why treating the sleep problem alone, without identifying its cause, is a guaranteed path to failure.

Why Sleep Is a Symptom, Not a Diagnosis

Insomnia does not arise on its own. Something else is always behind it: prolonged stress, asthenia, the aftermath of head injuries, neurological illness, thyroid or pancreatic dysfunction, or vascular changes. When a person sets out to "treat their insomnia" without understanding its source, they go in circles — and nothing works.

One key insight that is easy to overlook: if your sleep is intact, ninety percent of mental health problems are unlikely to affect you. If sleep breaks down — expect trouble, and very soon.

What Actually Goes Wrong: The Deep Sleep Phase

It is important to understand not just that sleep is poor, but what exactly is disrupted. Dr. Saulitis points to a central mechanism: the body restores itself only during the deep sleep phase. If that phase is absent, the person has not truly rested — even after a full night in bed. They may dream, toss and turn, move through the night — but the body receives no real recovery.

Prolonged absence of deep sleep is a path toward serious consequences: mood disorders, depression, and — if the process continues — even more severe conditions.

The Main Categories of Causes: What Lies Behind Sleep Disruption

Recognizing insomnia means asking the right questions about its source. Dr. Saulitis identifies several key areas:

• Neurological and organic causes: past head injuries, concussions, surgeries, encephalitis, meningitis, atherosclerotic changes — all of these can manifest as sleep disturbances, sometimes long after the original event.
• Endocrine dysfunction: the thyroid gland (whether overactive or underactive) and the pancreas during acute inflammation can produce marked sleep disturbances — something many people overlook entirely.
• Substances and stimulants: alcohol, fast sugars and processed foods (processed similarly by the liver), caffeine, strong tea, and psychoactive substances — all disrupt sleep architecture. Cannabis deserves particular attention: what begins as an occasional experiment can end with a person being unable to fall asleep without it.
• Treatment-related causes: sleep disturbances can themselves result from poorly matched treatment. Certain substance classes used for sleep problems are capable of destroying sleep structure — the person sleeps, but the deep restorative phase never arrives.

When and Where to Seek Help

Recognizing a sleep disturbance is the first step. The second is not to face it alone. Dr. Saulitis recommends consulting a family physician or, where possible, a psychiatrist. Independent attempts to "fix" sleep without understanding the cause are not only ineffective — they can make things worse.

Workup may include EEG, thyroid and pancreatic assessment, and neurological evaluation — depending on the suspected cause. These decisions belong to a specialist, not the patient.