Good question... And unfortunately, I don't have an answer.

I just know that I've had trouble falling asleep since I was teenager, and at that time got little sleep. I would sleep for some 12 hours on weekends.

In my 20's, when Bipolar symptoms started to rear their ugly head, I still wasn't sleeping, unless, of course, I abused the Klonopin I was on, usually in conjunction with a great deal of alcohol (I was an alcoholic for many many years). However, it wasn't always to sleep, there were some intentional overdoses in there.

In any case, these days, lack of sleep is my biggest trigger for Bipolar episodes, so my pdoc prescribes meds for sleeping and if I have just a little trouble at some point, she will increase them, such is the fear I will go doolally, as I put it. I currently take 50 mg of Seroquel to sleep and 1mg of Klonopin for anxiety, but that also helps me sleep, especially in conjunction with the Seroquel. Now, if I were not to be able to sleep with these meds, if I were to have break-through insomnia, I KNOW I'm going into an episode. I don't fall asleep on these meds, it's more like passing out.

I wish I knew if chronic insomnia had something to do with Bipolar Disorder, if nothing else then out of curiosity. All I know is that I need to be knocked out at night, that with those meds I have to go to bed very very early to not be hungover the next day, as well as to not be symptomatic. Ugh, sleep has always been such an issue with me!