Sleep Deprivation and Depression

[Kyle]

This isn't what you think it's about. And I wish I could find the original article I read on this earlier this morning.

Studies are being conducted on using sleep deprivation as a treatment for depression. Rather unintuitively, they've discovered (in young people- the effect is not significant in elderly people) they've found that sleep deprivation- best conducted by keeping lights on and staying awake for 24 hours- actually activates the two sections of the brain (I remember one was the amygdala) that are associated with chemical responses related to depression. Using MRIs and behavioral surveys in a controlled study, they discovered that this stimulation from sleep deprivation can actually alleviate (maybe only for a period of 2 weeks) some of the more severe symptoms of people suffering from clinical depression.

I just thought it was cool, because my logical brain would say, "Hey man- if you're clinically depressed, even more lack of sleep is a terrible idea." But apparently for some people it works. It's not a cure, but it can be helpful.

[poorpete]

Counterintuitive for sure!

[Phoebe]

Very interesting! I would like to read it. I've seen other studies on the subject suggesting a relationship between both feeling rested and better mood and the regularity of waking time. Such that even if you go to bed at different times, getting more or less sleep, you feel better if always waking at the same time consistently. Not sure if this could be related.

I worry also about things like staying up a long time or jetlag/time changes that can disrupt the circadian rhythm. You can disrupt it long term and the consequences are Bad!

This is one of those intriguing areas that seems under-investigatsd relative to impacts.