Is there a biological state the brain looks for before you fall unconscious? What causes insomnia to kick in randomly?
In: Biology
Yes there is, but it’s quite complex.
One requirement is exhaustion (wich is chemically measured by Adenosine, a substance that gets produced by the activity of nerves). Here caffeine can interfere for example and prevent your body from measuring your Adenosine level properly
Another is safety. I.E. lack of adrenaline wich tells your body it’s a good idea to fall asleep now and wake up alive.
Then your circardian rythm (inner clock) telling you it’s sleepy time. This can for example be tricked by screen light making your brain think it’s bright day.
Another bunch of requirements revolve around more complex psychology. For example being in a place that you exclusively use for sleeping signals that it must now be sleepy time. Same for activities that you only do before sleeping.
Insomnia can have many reasons, including lacking one or more of these requirements, or actually having some chemical issue in your brain that prevents sleep despite all requirements being met
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