Posted by Simcha on October 4, 2001, at 10:33:46
In reply to Re: Sleep deprivation as an anti depressant, posted by SLS on October 4, 2001, at 10:18:26
Geez NO!
For me sleep deprivation (alla insomnia) was part of my depression. It did not help me. It made things much worse. If I don't get my 7-8 hours, I'm a mess.
I also didn't eat when I was down in the dumps. It's strange how we all have different symptoms for the same illness...
> > I don't understand the mechanism behind it but it certainly works. I admit to choosing to stay up past the point of tiredness a few nights in a row sometimes to deliberately induce a mild sort of hypomania. Probably NOT a good idea.
> > I, too, would be interested in knowing the biochemistry behind it.
> > Dinah
>
>
> Hi.
>
> One strategy used to make the most of sleep deprivation is to go to bed at your normal time and wake up at 2:00am - 3:00am. The key is to force a phase *advance* in the circadian rhythm. Retarding the rhythm (going to bed late and over-sleeping) can actually make depression worse. There are some reports that using sleep deprivation can accelerate the response to antidepressants. I haven't researched it enough to know how to go about using sleep deprivation on a regular basis, but I imagine it involves periodic rather than continuous application.
>
> I believe the current thought is that the antidepressant effects of sleep deprivation involve dopaminergic function. A number of years ago, researchers at the NIMH tried to establish an association between a patient's response to a single night's total sleep deprivation and the drugs that they respond to. I wish I could remember for sure what they found, but I don't. I think non-response to SD prognosticated for reduced rates of response to Wellbutrin and MAOIs. Not sure.
>
>
> - Scott
poster:Simcha
thread:80236
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010927/msgs/80255.html