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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by Dinah on March 15, 2012, at 10:43:45
I'm not meaning to double post this, but I'm also interested in the biological part of this.
I recently was feeling very depressed. I already knew that sleep deprivation can bring on mild hypomania in me. But apparently it can reset my circadian rhythm to help depression as well.
When I was feeling so depressed, I noticed that I was waking up early and feeling most capable in the morning. I'm a night person (or at least I'm not a morning person) so this wasn't my normal pattern. After a few nights of little or no sleep, I'm back to feeling incapable of anything until late morning, but not particularly depressed. I'm still feeling a bit apathetic and my concentration is poor, but that's not so bad.
I think I glanced at a news article saying that Lithium may work by regulating circadian rhythms of people with bipolar disorder. I'm sort of bipolarish, if not actually meeting the criteria of I or II. It's an interesting thought that I might be able to change mood trends by trying to reset my personal clock.
Has anyone managed to successfully make this part of their treatment plan? Is it a sound theory?
Posted by Hugh on March 15, 2012, at 11:35:33
In reply to Sleep deprivation, posted by Dinah on March 15, 2012, at 10:43:45
I have insomnia, and sleep deprivation worsens my depression and does not help to reset my sleep cycle. But sleep deprivation helps to alleviate depression in some people, perhaps by depriving them of REM sleep.
Here's an article about it from Psychology Today.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dream-catcher/201107/sleep-deprivation-and-depression
Posted by Phillipa on March 15, 2012, at 15:23:53
In reply to Re: Sleep deprivation, posted by Hugh on March 15, 2012, at 11:35:33
Melatonin? Phillipa
Posted by Hugh on March 16, 2012, at 12:04:50
In reply to Re: Sleep deprivation, posted by Phillipa on March 15, 2012, at 15:23:53
> Melatonin? Phillipa
I don't like melatonin. I'm going to start taking prazosin soon. I hope it improves my sleep.
Posted by kagome on March 22, 2012, at 18:46:00
In reply to Sleep deprivation, posted by Dinah on March 15, 2012, at 10:43:45
Yeah, I think it's a really interesting phenomenon... as far as I know, no one's sure why it works but limiting REM cycles seems to be the main theory. I believe it works for unipolar depression and can possibly swing those with bipolar into a manic state (did you mean hypermania btw?). I remember being so excited when I found out sleep deprivation can help depression. The only problem is that it generally only lasts a few days at most and then tends to make depression worse so it's not a sustainable solution, but if it helps you "reset" then go for it!
-kagome
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