Insomnia

Executive Neuro-Brief

The Evolutionary Design
Your ancestors lived in a dangerous world. A sleeping human was an easy target for predators. Your brain developed a hyper-arousal system to keep you safe. When it sensed a threat, it flooded your body with cortisol. This kept you awake and alert. It was a survival mechanism. It ensured you could react instantly to a snapping twig or a shadow. Nature built this to keep you alive during short periods of high risk.

The Modern Analogy
Insomnia is like having a brain that refuses to turn off the lights in the house at night, wandering from room to room when everything needs rest. The master switch is jammed. You want to sleep, but the lights blaze in the kitchen and the living room. Your mind paces the hallways. It checks the locks over and over. It looks for problems that do not exist. The house burns through electricity while the grid is supposed to be offline. This leaves the structure weak and the battery empty for the next day.

The Upgrade Protocol
You need to fix the wiring. You cannot force the darkness. You must install a dimmer switch. Create a routine that signals safety to the control center. Lower the temperature and remove blue light. Walk through the mental house and gently flip the switches down one by one. Convince the guard dog that the perimeter is secure. Once the brain stops pacing the halls, the lights will fade. The house will finally go quiet.