"Not only do cooler heads prevail they might also sleep better according to researchers who say they have developed a cooling cap that when worn during sleeptime may help treat insomnia. Previous research has shown that the brains of people with insomnia are hyperaroused and have a higher brain metabolism in the frontal lobes which helps explain why they have trouble drifting off to sleep and staying asleep said study coauthor Dr. Daniel Buysse a professor of psychiatry and clinical and translational science at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. To help the brain cool down researchers outfitted  primary insomnia patients with a temperaturecontrolled cap that has cool water flowing through it and recruited  healthy controls matched for age and gender. Primary insomnia means that medical problems medicines or other substances have been ruled out as a cause of sleep difficulties. The more common type of insomnia is secondary insomnia in which medical issues or medications contribute. Of the patients with insomnia the average age was  and nine were women. Participants slept for two nights in a sleep lab with no cap two nights with the cap set at a neutral temperature about  degrees Fahrenheit two nights at a moderately cool temperature  degrees Fahrenheit and two nights with the coolest temperature  degrees Fahrenheit. While the participants slept researchers monitored their brain electrical activity eye movements to determine if someone was in REM or rapid eye movement sleep and jaw muscle tone during REM the muscles go slack due to sleep paralysis. In this preliminary study about threequarters of those with insomnia said the cap helped them sleep better when the water temperature was about  degrees Fahrenheit. At higher temperatures   and  degrees  patients reported no benefit according to the study presented Monday at SLEEP  the Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting in Minneapolis. While wearing the cooling cap it took insomnia patients an average of  minutes to fall asleep and they spent  percent of their time in bed actually sleeping about the same as controls who didnt have insomnia the latter group averaged  minutes to fall asleep and  percent of the time in bed sleeping . The cooling cap was however associated with an increased amount of slowwave sleep  or the deepest restorative portion of sleep the researchers reported. What we wanted to find out was Would cooling the surface of the brain of insomnia patients result in lower metabolism and improved sleep The basic answer in this preliminary study is yes it seems to work and it works in two ways said Buysse. It does reduce brain metabolism in the frontal lobes and it improves sleep.  Dr. William Kohler medical director of the Florida Sleep Institute said the concept was exciting and worth further research in larger studies that include body temperature measurements and brain imaging tests. The theoretical concept is correct in that we do know from many previous studies that as the body core temperature cools our sleep improves and with warming of the core temperature we have more restless sleep Kohler said. Chronic insomnia  which the American Academy of Sleep Medicine attributes to about one out of every  Americans  can be difficult to treat. Medications can help although many people complain of side effects Kohler said. The most effective treatment is cognitive behavior therapy which involves changes such as avoiding cigarettes alcohol and caffeine before bed and getting plenty of bright light in the morning but turning off the TV computer and dimming the lights during a winddown period among other techniques for improving sleep hygiene. Its in the brain where the chemical changes are occurring that lead to sleep he said. The cap is not yet available to consumers although the lead researcher Dr. Eric Nofzinger has plans to bring it to market Buysse said. Because this study was extremely small and presented at a medical meeting the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peerreviewed journal and confirmed in larger studies. Buysee said there shouldnt be any safety issues. If people get too cold they would likely just wake up and take the cap off he said. More information The U.S. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute http_whatis.html has more on insomnia. SOURCES Daniel J. Buysse M.D. professor psychiatry and clinical and translational science University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine William Kohler M.D. medical director Florida Sleep Institute Spring Hill Fla. American Academy of Sleep Medicine news release June"