# Circadian rhythm shift = effective, FAST depression therapy!



## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

I've been reading about this and it is intriguing. Considering how much sleep plays into moods (think about how _mania_ is almost by definition a near-insomniac state), this makes sense. My following post is a number of studies or reviews that covers this topic.

Basically, I think that Partial Sleep Deprivation (waking up at 4:00 a.m. followed by !light! exposure) is very effective. I know it is for me. I stole the idea from Dr. Phelps' website. I've tried it and it works way way better than I thought it would.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

*Chronotherapeutics (light and wake therapy) in affective disorders. *
Wirz-Justice A, Benedetti F, Berger M, Lam RW, Martiny K, Terman M, Wu JC. 
Psychol Med. 2005 Jul;35(7):939-44.

The Committee on Chronotherapeutics, delegated by the International Society for Affective Disorders (ISAD), makes the following recommendations after reviewing the evidence as of November 2004. (1) Wake therapy is the most rapid antidepressant available today: approximately 60% of patients, independent of diagnostic subtype, respond with marked improvement within hours. Treatment can be a single or repeated sleep deprivation, total (all night) or partial (second half of the night). Relapse can be prevented by daily light therapy, concomitant administration of SSRIs, lithium (for bipolar patients), or a short phase advance of sleep over 3 days following a single night of wake therapy. Combinations of these interventions show great promise. (2) Light therapy is effective for major depression--not only for the seasonal subtype. As an adjuvant to conventional antidepressants in unipolar patients, or lithium in bipolar patients, morning light hastens and potentiates the antidepressant response. Light therapy shows benefit even for patients with chronic depression of 2 years or more, outperforming their weak response to drugs. This method provides a viable alternative for patients who refuse, resist or cannot tolerate medication, or for whom drugs may be contraindicated, as in antepartum depression. (3) Given the urgent need for new strategies to treat patients with residual depressive symptoms, clinical trials of wake therapy and/or adjuvant light therapy, coupled with follow-up studies of long-term recurrence, are a high priority.

________________

*Sleep deprivation in depression: what do we know, where do we go? *
Wirz-Justice A, Van den Hoofdakker RH 
Chronobiology and Sleep Laboratory, 
Psychiatric University Clinic, Basel, Switzerland. 
Biol Psychiatry 1999 Aug 15; 46(4):445-53

Manipulations of the sleep-wake cycle, whether of duration (total or partial sleep deprivation [SD]) or timing (partial SD, phase advance), have profound and rapid effects on depressed mood in 60% of all diagnostic subgroups of affective disorders. Relapse after recovery sleep is less when patients are receiving medication; it may be prevented by co-administration of lithium, pindolol, serotonergic antidepressants, bright light, or a subsequent phase advance procedure. Diurnal and day-to-day mood variability predict both short-term response to SD and long-term response to antidepressant drug treatment. These mood patterns can be understood in terms of a "two-process model of mood regulation" based on the model well established for sleep regulation: the interaction of circadian and homeostatic processes. The therapeutic effect of SD is postulated to be linked to changes in disturbed circadian- and sleep-wake-dependent phase relationships and concomitant increase of slow-wave-sleep pressure; additionally, SD-induced sleepiness may counteract the hyperarousal state in depression. This model has the advantage of providing a comprehensive theoretical framework and stringent protocols ("constant routine," "forced desynchrony") to dissect out specific disturbances. Many aspects tie in with current serotonergic receptor hypotheses of SD action. A treatment inducing euthymia in severely depressed patients within hours is an important therapeutic option that has come of age for clinical use.

_________________

*Neurobiological similarities in antidepressant sleep deprivation and psychostimulant use: a psychostimulant theory of antidepressant sleep deprivation *
Ebert D, Berger M 
Department of Psychiatry, University of Freiburg, Germany. 
Psychopharmacology (Berl) 1998 Nov; 140(1):1-10

This paper attempts to summarize the evidence for the hypothesis that psychostimulant-like neurotransmitter processes within certain regions of the limbic system induce the positive effects of antidepressant sleep deprivation (SD). Preclinical and human studies indicate similar neurobiological effects of psychostimulants such as amphetamines, cocaine and SD. In clinical use, SD and psychostimulants have similar characteristics and behavioral effects. Furthermore, acute psychostimulant challenge decreases limbic metabolism in imaging studies, and SD decreases elevated limbic metabolism in SD responders, indicating that psychostimulant-like neurotransmitter release could decrease limbic metabolism in SD responders. Most antidepressant pharmacotherapies change the reactivity of the dopamine system, and a decrease of presynaptic dopamine or postsynaptic availability can induce depression. Sleep is accompanied by a reduction of catecholamine release and those processes which are increased by psychostimulants. It is concluded that a proposed regional postsynaptic deficit in catecholaminergic neurotransmission can be overcome either acutely by enhanced release during SD or psychostimulant use, or chronically by changes in receptor sensitivity or gene expression due to antidepressant therapies. A postsynaptic deficit in these areas becomes evident if presynaptic release is reduced in conditions such as sleep. Therefore, sleep is depressiogenic for predisposed individuals and the reduction of sleep avoids understimulation of subsensitive postsynaptic processes, which are enhanced by psychostimulants.

_______________

*Sleep and sleep-wake manipulations in bipolar depression. *
Riemann D, Voderholzer U, Berger M. 
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Freiburg, Germany. 
Neuropsychobiology. 2002;45 Suppl 1:7-12.

In the last 30 years, it has been convincingly demonstrated that sleep in major depression is characterized by disturbances of sleep continuity, a reduction of slow wave sleep, a disinhibition of REM sleep including a shortening of REM latency (i.e. the time between sleep onset and the occurrence of the first REM period) and an increase in REM density. Furthermore, manipulations of the sleep-wake cycle like total or partial sleep deprivation or phase advance of the sleep period have been proven to be effective therapeutic strategies for patients with unipolar depression. The database concerning sleep and sleep-wake manipulations in bipolar disorder in comparison is not yet as extensive. Studies investigating sleep in bipolar depression suggest that during the depressed phase sleep shows the same stigmata as in unipolar depression. During the hypomanic or manic phase, sleep is even more curtailed, though subjectively not experienced as disturbing by the patients. REM sleep disinhibition is present as well. An important issue is the question, whether sleep-wake manipulations can also be applied in patients with bipolar depression. Work by others and our own studies indicate that sleep deprivation and a phase advance of the sleep period can be used to treat bipolar patients during the depressed phase. The risk of a switch into hypomania or mania does not seem to be more pronounced than the risk with typical pharmacological antidepressant treatment. For patients with mania, sleep deprivation is not an adequate treatment--in contrast, treatment strategies aiming at stabilizing a regular sleep-wake schedule are indicated.

________________

*Eye-blink rates and depression. Is the antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation mediated by the dopamine system? *
Ebert D, Albert R, Hammon G, Strasser B, May A, Merz A
Department of Psychiatry,University of Erlangen, Germany. 
Neuropsychopharmacology 1996 Oct; 15(4):332-9

A series of studies demonstrated a possible correlation between eye-blink rate and central dopamine activity. The hypothesis has been put forward that the antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation (SD) is mediated by an enhanced dopamine release resulting in an amphetaminelike action of SD. Therefore, the blink rates of 12 drug-naive patients with major depression and 12 healthy controls were compared before and after SD and before and after 2.5 mg bromocriptine as a dopaminergic challenge. The main result of the study was that the depressed patients had a significantly higher increase of blinking after SD both with and without a dopaminergic challenge. Basal eye-blink rate was not different in nonretarded major depression patients compared to controls. Sleep deprivation increased blink rate in depression patients but not in controls, and the increase was proportional to improvements in depressive state after sleep deprivation. Bromocriptine did not increase blink rate 1 hour after application. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that antidepressant SD acts through dopamine release, although it is not conclusive, because other neurotransmitters like acetylcholine may be involved in the regulation of blinking.


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## whiteclouds (Mar 18, 2004)

This type of therapy never occured to me before, but it makes sense because when I am depressed I sleep a lot, like 14 hours or more a day. I'd like to try it, but I find it terribly difficult to get myself out of bed. I just don't have the self-discipline.


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## Kramer1 (Feb 23, 2006)

I've found sleep deprivation to be an amazing treatment for depression, at least in the short term. It seems like the worse I feel, the better it works. Add in some exercise, and the depressed mood is gone. The problem is by the third day I need a good night's sleep, and after a sound night's sleep the depression is back, and then some. I haven't tried light therapy.

Thanks for the info.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

I wanted to post this, because I'm just coming down from a week-long hypomania. Triggered by sleep deprivation.

A warning: I think that _too much_ sleep deprivation can shoot you into hypomania or mania. Well, anyway, it did me. Basically, I got a little bit less sleep a couple of nights. Then the next night, I couldn't sleep very well because it was really windy and the sound kept me up. (Only about 2 hours of ZZzzzs.) Suddenly, it was time to go to work even though I hadn't slept much. So I popped a lot of caffeine pills to keep conscious.

Before I knew it, I was on a week-long hypomanic spin. I wasn't even tired! I was REALLY happy, talkative, bouncy, joyous, etc. In my case, it eventually turned into a somewhat irritable hypomania (which does not surprise me at all... given my history). But _the **** works!_

I think that *partial* sleep deprivation, with the light exposure, lacks those problems in me, or the rebound effect.


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## F-Bomb (May 17, 2005)

In high school I would use sleep deprivation to kill my anxiety before a speech or presentation. I think I was just so out of it that I just didn't care...I don't know if this is on topic or not...


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## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

I doubt that would work as a long term solution. I think getting the proper amount of sleep would work better in the long run....


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## Nyx (Nov 17, 2003)

Sleep deprivation might get rid of depression, but it would make me homicidal. I need my sleep :b


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## funkypresident (Sep 17, 2005)

YES finally somebody with the same thought as me. :lol

I had a counslling appointment a week ago, and i got 1.5-2hours of sleep the night before. I went into the appointment anxious, but wasn't that bad. I guess i was TOO TIRED to care. It works to get rid of the anxiety (imo), but can't be done constantly....you need sleep :fall


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## FreeSoul (Jan 1, 2006)

This could never work for me. Too little sleep would just increase my odds of bad IBS spells.
Could work for someone else, but not me. I need my sleep.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

The idea isn't to _chronically _deprive yourself of sleep. It's done a couple of different ways (researchers disagree on the best way): a single night of total sleep deprivation; a single night of partial deprivation; a single night of partial deprivation followed by slowly adding more sleep in until you get to 8 hours. Otherwise, as far as I know, the second night should always be normal (e.g. shouldn't be "compensatory" and then you oversleep). I'll quote that first abstract again, since it sums things up the best. [emphasis added]

*Chronotherapeutics (light and wake therapy) in affective disorders.*
Wirz-Justice A, Benedetti F, Berger M, Lam RW, Martiny K, Terman M, Wu JC.
Psychol Med. 2005 Jul;35(7):939-44.

The Committee on Chronotherapeutics, delegated by the International Society for Affective Disorders (ISAD), makes the following recommendations after reviewing the evidence as of November 2004. (1) Wake therapy is the most rapid antidepressant available today: approximately 60% of patients, independent of diagnostic subtype, respond with marked improvement within hours. _Treatment can be a single or repeated sleep deprivation, total (all night) or partial (second half of the night). Relapse can be prevented by daily light therapy, concomitant administration of SSRIs, lithium (for bipolar patients), or a short phase advance of sleep over 3 days following a single night of wake therapy. _Combinations of these interventions show great promise. (2) Light therapy is effective for major depression--not only for the seasonal subtype. As an adjuvant to conventional antidepressants in unipolar patients, or lithium in bipolar patients, morning light hastens and potentiates the antidepressant response. Light therapy shows benefit even for patients with chronic depression of 2 years or more, outperforming their weak response to drugs. This method provides a viable alternative for patients who refuse, resist or cannot tolerate medication, or for whom drugs may be contraindicated, as in antepartum depression. (3) Given the urgent need for new strategies to treat patients with residual depressive symptoms, clinical trials of wake therapy and/or adjuvant light therapy, coupled with follow-up studies of long-term recurrence, are a high priority.

_____________

Basically, you do it to sort of "jump start" a long-term method of treating depression such as lithium. I suppose it could also be useful just for acute purposes, e.g. you need to feel good so you can finally do your taxes.

BTW I do it by setting my alarm; waking up - hit the snooze - take a caffeine pill - and go back to bed. By the time the snooze wears off and the annoying buzzes come around again, I'm ready to finally wake up, and if I can manage to turn the lights on then I start to feel pretty good. Sometimes I get a little bit shaky or jittery at first.

I pretty much just do this whenever I feel like I've been slipping into a depressive rut, although I'm sure there's a more systematic way to use it. I do know that you are supposed to stay awake despite the deprivation, and not sleep extra the next night.

It's true - you can get some gastrointestinal side effects. Other side effects may include tiredness (duh), nervousness, mood swings, dry mouth. Probably some other stuff. In other words, a bit like taking an antidepressant, except you don't have to wait a couple weeks for it to work.

Anyway that's my understanding.


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## Kate (Mar 4, 2006)

It sounds like an interesting idea. I would be careful though with it. I had a nervous breakdown a few years ago, and leading up to it for 2 weeks I had not been getting but a few hours sleep. There was also other stressful factors, that had caused me to lose sleep, but when it all came to a head, I pretty much lost my mind. It started with an extreme panic attack out of the blue (I had never had one like that before), and then I became delusional and thought God was killing me, and it all went downhill from there. I feel that the sleep deprivation caused me to lose grasp on reality (it has been known to cause hallucinations), but the experience was horrible. I had to go to doctors and was put on a ton of drugs, I thought I had mentally passed the point of no return, but after a week or two I returned to normal. However I will never be the same after dealing with that. I do know that soon before the breakdown I was becoming extremely euphoric, so that does seem to go along with what you were saying... 

Anyway, maybe it would not be bad if it was controlled and the sleep deprivation didn't go to a dangerous level, like it sounds you were thinking of anyway, but I'd be careful. It's possible that it's just me who was susceptible to something bad happening, but who knows.


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## perfectlycalm (Nov 15, 2005)

When I was a teenager I could never get to sleep until 1 or 2 am or so, and had to be up by 6:30 am. So I always was tried at school, and in many ways I think that it kept me in my little isolated world of not understanding how messed up I actually was, sort of protected me from the truth and weight of reality. I was a time bomb of depression.

When I was 16 I tried to deprive myself of sleep, I stayed awake for 3 days straight to see what would happen, I felt more awake than ever on the 3rd day and got worried that I was hallucinating voices in my mind, it scared me into forcing myself to end the deprivation of sleep that time.

Maybe some of you have a time that you just seem to wake up by every morning, like I'll tend to wake up almost exactly at 8:00, messing with that internal clock seems to make my anxiety worse. Now if you can wake up to natrual light isn't that better than anything else?


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## orpheus (Nov 16, 2003)

if i remove coveted hours from my regiment of 8hrs/night i find that i am comatose and while i am somewhat desensitized (reduced anxiety) i find that my mood takes a turn for the worse.


One should also consider what health-effects this may have in the long run


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## Molbrew (Oct 28, 2004)

I read about the sleep deprivation stuff a month ago and have tried it several times. It's almost like my brain is so fatigued that i'm unable to have the rapid negative thoughts that would normally cause me to be depressed.


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## adordan (Oct 15, 2005)

although sleep deprivation makes me less anxious, it completely exhausts me to the point where I am unable to do anything so I fall behind and get much more anxious later in fear of having to catch up!


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## Curmudgeon64 (Dec 5, 2003)

This is completely fascinating! Thank you, Caedmon, for the abstracts.

I wonder whether it has more to do with lessened sleep or with knocking the circadian cycle off balance. Bet it's the latter: that sunlight aspect is rather telling. To be honest, I was very skeptical when I first saw this topic's title; but I happened to wake up about an hour early today and do some laundry before work, and I do feel better than I did last night.

Kate and others bring up an interesting caution, though.

Me tomorrow: [falling asleep in my coffe]


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## ophelia (Feb 29, 2004)

Interesting. 
I was just thinking about this. I haven't slept in 30 hours. Too tired and stupid to be anxious.
Still sad though... but it's not quite as, focused? I don't know.


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## allseeingHawk (Mar 29, 2006)

Partial deprivation of sleep is not good for school, it makes you feel dumb and generally slow.


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## peace81 (Apr 23, 2004)

I'm going to try the deprevation next week, since i'm off. The halucinations seem interesting.


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## itchynscratchy (Apr 8, 2006)

intriguing! i did the three-day sleep deprivation hallucinations in college, and i don't know that i'm into that, but one night won't mess me up and i'm curious as to how it will affect my mood. (after three days i was giddy and annoying) i'm on spring break so i think i'll try it too. i would have to do one night of total deprivation though. if my alarm goes off at 4am, i'll just smash it and go back to sleep. the only other way that would work is if i set up my light with a timer...


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## Maseur Shado (Jun 7, 2005)

It's worked in a limited fashion for me, although I never consciously tried to be sleep deprived. It just happens that way when you're insomniac.

But I noticed that for the short-term, I was actually able to get some writing done...and the end results were comprehensible. I could never go more than two days without any real sleep, unfortunately. It's kind of nice when you have that extra push of energy. You almost feel that anything is conquerable.


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## itchynscratchy (Apr 8, 2006)

Maseur Shado said:


> It's worked in a limited fashion for me, although I never consciously tried to be sleep deprived. It just happens that way when you're insomniac.


Ditto. Last night I stayed over at a friend, she has OCD and SA, and was alone at home and I thought I'd keep her company so she could sleep. Well, I hadn't planned to try the sleep deprivation until I was back at home, but between her dog, the trains every two hours, and the neighbors three roosters, sleep was just not happening. Well, I must say, I _am _feeling a little more up right now. I just wonder how long it will last.


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## Strychnyne (Mar 28, 2006)

I feel like a devil on acid when sleep deprived. Very cranky and totally out of it. No way I could do that.


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## itchynscratchy (Apr 8, 2006)

Okay, I was stricken with insomnia a couple of nights ago, and the next day I went manic. I was like the little squirrel in that new movie "Over the Hedge". My co-workers were laughing at me. It may be because I'm in the process of switching meds (effexor to paxil cr) but I don't know if this is for me.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Hey I found some more stuff on it.

There are specific ways to do it, to maintain a good effect and to feel generally better instead of worse. I found a great article, user-friendly:

Sleep DeprivationTherapy

Also look at:
Sleep Deprivation Combined With Consecutive Sleep Phase Advance as a Fast-Acting Therapy in Depression: An Open Pilot Trial in Medicated and Unmedicated Patients

And:
http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/medic ... html#sleep

I understand that the deprivation causes decreased cortisol production the next day as well as affecting either serotonin or dopamine.


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## friendly stranger (Jul 30, 2006)

Thanks for this information Caedmon, I was just thinking about it a couple weeks ago because I can remember when I was a kid my parents had to keep awake my sister who was home for some days out of the psychiatric hospital, I couldn't remember what the sleep deprivation was for but since my sister and me got like the same problems I thought to give it a try.
So I looked it up on internet but couldn't find anything, in dutch nor english sites, but that's probebly because I didn't knew the exact name, I actually just looked up "deprevation" in the dictionary (it's right under "depressive", how... erm... what's the word :con )

Anyways, thanks, I'm gonna give it a try, I got nothing else to do (I'm stuck inside all day), thinking about that, being bored as it is already, what am I gonna do all night long?
I can't wake up at 4 AM, a lot of times I'm not even sleeping yet before around 3:30 AM, and I can easely sleep 14 hours, sometimes I find it even hard to get up after 16 hours sleep...
And I guess it won't go good together with food deprevation and/or drinking...
OK, well, let me sort it out what I'm gonna do here, keep u posted...


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## damoo (Aug 14, 2006)

Being sleep deprived makes me blush 100% more than I usually do.


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## quiet_one (Jun 14, 2006)

Thanks for the information! I'll read it when I get a chance; sounds interesting. It explains why I almost always feel depressed and lethargic whenever I sleep too late in the morning. No more sleeping late for me! :cup


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

I definitely have notice that, if nothing else, consistently waking early (and compensating with short naps in the afternoon, if need be) is much better for my mood than sleeping in. I now just make it a habit to be up by 6 a.m. even on weekends, and I feel great.  If I sleep in, depression will start oozing back in.


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## Panic Prone (Mar 5, 2006)

Zephyr said:


> I doubt that would work as a long term solution. I think getting the proper amount of sleep would work better in the long run....


agree. Sleep deprivation is ridiculous. THis thread should be locked trying to prove any positive effects to it. Your body cannot repair or function properly without sleep period. All sleep deprivation will do is cause you to rott from the inside out.


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## quiet_one (Jun 14, 2006)

> I definitely have notice that, if nothing else, consistently waking early (and compensating with short naps in the afternoon, if need be) is much better for my mood than sleeping in.


 - Yep, plus you have a lot more time to get things done.



> agree. Sleep deprivation is ridiculous. THis thread should be locked trying to prove any positive effects to it. Your body cannot repair or function properly without sleep period. All sleep deprivation will do is cause you to rott from the inside out.


 - Well, you shouldn't take it too far of course. But just short term is probably okay.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Panic Prone said:


> Zephyr said:
> 
> 
> > I doubt that would work as a long term solution. I think getting the proper amount of sleep would work better in the long run....
> ...


You may want to read the articles in my last post, which discuss how this could be realistically implemented. (I only recently dug them up!)

I am repeating myself here, BUT....
The way researchers have discovered to maintain positive effects from this is _*not *_to string people out on insufficient sleep indefinitely (which would be unrealistic), but to shift the sleep circadian rhythms, manipulate them after one night of partial or full sleep deprivation in such a way as to keep the benefits without making you go nuts. From there, a strict policy of consistent wakening times is implemented. They're still getting adequate rest however. (Another method was to use one night of sleep deprivation together with medication therapy, but I think they found that once the person went back to their old sleep schedule they rebounded back into depression.)

Here is some information on the physiology of sleep and restoration from Macalester University:
http://www.macalester.edu/psychology/wh ... hys01.html

I posted because I thought it was interesting as well as relevant. My purpose is to exchange information on research and treatment.


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## Oberyn (Feb 7, 2006)

Panic Prone said:


> Zephyr said:
> 
> 
> > Sleep deprivation is ridiculous. THis thread should be locked trying to prove any positive effects to it. Your body cannot repair or function properly without sleep period. All sleep deprivation will do is cause you to rott from the inside out.


You might be surpised to know that there is evidence suggesting that anti-depressants are effective for this very reason.

No, not by keeping you up all night. By surpressing REM sleep. Which is in essence, what sleep deprevation will do to you.

http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/OldArchive/bbs.vertes.html

http://www.biopsychiatry.com/sleep.htm


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## LostJohnny (Oct 31, 2005)

For me anxiety and nausea go together. If I haven't had enough sleep that can make me feel nauseous and put me in that cycle.


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## TheGMan (Jun 10, 2004)

Isn't this just replacing depression with mania?

I've experienced both and can't say one is better or worse. I have definitely experienced sleep deprivation induced mania.

for me,Depression= Lazy, lethargic, don't get anything done, SA.

Mania= energetic, paranoia, SA, hallucinating, ready to get things done but too unbalanced and bat$%^& insane, basically.

IDK, I like feeling like that sometimes. But I cant really do anything between the extremes..


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## D.B. Cooper (Jul 21, 2006)

The longer i stay awake the more obnoxious my dysthymia becomes.


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## starblob (Oct 23, 2005)

The less sleep i have the more anxious i get. The 'wall' comes down and i'm ****ed.


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## Message (Sep 20, 2006)

I don't know... last year I went on 3-4 hours of sleep everday for months at a time, and I felt horrible, and became more and more depressed.

I get TONS of sleep now... and I feel fine. But when saturdays roll around, and I work at 8am, I am always sleep deprived and feeling like crap physically makes me feel like crap mentally.


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## shy_chick (Sep 27, 2006)

Don't know if it would work or not for me. I get restless sleep, and generally sleep about 8 hours but feel tired and unable to sleep again I then go tired in the afternoon or evening.
Under my 8 hours and I feel terrible until I can catch it up again, usually with an afternoon nap as I always wake about 7-9am no matter what time I go to bed.


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## aria (Sep 29, 2006)

If I'm a little sleep-deprived (like get 6 hours of sleep a night) I'm really tired and don't feel horrible..but the times when I've pulled an all-nighter (or more than one in a row) I've had pretty much no depression or anxiety..though after a while I do start getting really tired and feel like I'm drunk..sometimes that feeling passes and I get energy again, sometimes I just need to sleep.

edit: I'm actually on my 2nd all-nighter (in a row) right now..I'll take note of how I'm feeling the rest of the week, and see if I notice anything. this lack of sleep is kind of addicting..


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## depressedavoidant (Dec 31, 2004)

the other day i went to sleep at 4 and had to be up at 7am for something... the whole day i was in a fog, but i had almost zero anxiety.. of course i felt like everything was in slow motion but it was quite an experience...


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

aria said:


> edit: I'm actually on my 2nd all-nighter (in a row) right now..I'll take note of how I'm feeling the rest of the week, and see if I notice anything. this lack of sleep is kind of addicting..


Be careful with it though. As was pointed out, there is a complication of hypomania.

I have read that if you keep someone w/ bipolar depression awake for 40 hours, greater than half of them will switch to mania. I'm not sure if it's true or not, I just read it somewhere.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

TheGMan said:


> Isn't this just replacing depression with mania?


Not at all. Please actually read my _entire _post*s*.  "Posts" is plural you'll notice.


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## Kentucky_Fried (Mar 29, 2007)

*re: Sleep deprivation is effective, FAST depression therapy!*

I've noticed that the more I sleep the less energetic I feel. I haven't felt _rested_ in years. However, I do sometimes get huge bursts of energy that seem to last days.

When I sleep four or less hours a night - I feel great. The best days I've ever had were a result of this. My sensory perception seems much clearer. Colors are brighter. The world seems better. And most importantly, my anxiety almost completely disappears.

Throw in some disco music and it's a party. :banana

So yes, it seems like sleep deprivation is the most effective treatment for social anxiety.

Apparently more than 6-7 hours of sleep a night is unhealthy:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1820996.stm


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## Kentucky_Fried (Mar 29, 2007)

*re: Sleep deprivation is effective, FAST depression therapy!*

Update: I've been trying sleep deprivation for a week (no more than 4 hours sleep per night) and it seemed to work really well. Last night I decided to go to sleep early because I didn't have much else to do but I slept about 7 hours and thirty minutes. Today my SA is going full swing.


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## Melissa24 (Feb 1, 2007)

*re: Sleep deprivation is effective, FAST depression therapy!*

I've tried this and it seems to work well, but the problem is there's no way I can keep it up for an entire week. Last Monday I pulled an all nighter (not intentionally actually I just couldn't sleep) I had little to no anxiety most of the day (depression was still present though not as bad) That night I was worn out, fell asleep early, got 8 hours of sleep and was a nervous wreck all Tuesday. I can't even make it a full week with 5 hours every night. Although this might be because I usually don't sleep that well...often I'll wake up several times in a night.


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## hefferdoo (May 3, 2007)

*re: Sleep deprivation is effective, FAST depression therapy!*

sleep deprivation makes my anxiety 100 times worse, the more sleep deprived i am the more i can't sleep and the more anxious i get...i have had a real messed up sleeping schedule lately and i have been having a really bad mental state and today i had my first anxiety attack...so i dont agree with the sleep deprivation thing personally but what ever floats your boat


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## yeah_yeah_yeah (Mar 27, 2007)

*re: Sleep deprivation is effective, FAST depression therapy!*

If I go out to nightclubs (ok I haven't done this for years but I'm allowed to remember) and don't get to sleep, by 4am I begin to feel manic and giggle loads, whether I've had alcohol or not.

There is definitely something to it, but I think its got more to do with screwing with circadian rhythms and the bodies natural tendency to medicate with adrenaline to get you through it. It also worries me what the long term effects on sanity are for cutting out sleep systematically.

Ross


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

*Re: re: Sleep deprivation is effective, FAST depression ther*



yeah_yeah_yeah said:


> If I go out to nightclubs (ok I haven't done this for years but I'm allowed to remember) and don't get to sleep, by 4am I begin to feel manic and giggle loads, whether I've had alcohol or not.
> 
> There is definitely something to it, but I think its got more to do with screwing with circadian rhythms and the bodies natural tendency to medicate with adrenaline to get you through it. *It also worries me what the long term effects on sanity are for cutting out sleep systematically*.
> 
> Ross


I'm talking about doing this *once.*
Done once, one time only, followed by a _shift _in circadian rhythms. Were my posts confusing? A lot of people seem to be confused.

Edit: I changed the topic title in case that is throwing people off.


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## Lostsoul (Nov 18, 2004)

I have minor bipolar issues so the risk of playing around with my sleep is too great. However I am interested in the comment about light. I tend to like to have my blinds closed so I don't get much sunlight most of the time. Does just having more light help your depression Caedmon? I'll ask my psychiatrist about this. Maybe I should keep myself in the sunlight all day and see how I feel. I've been depressed on sunny days though but I've never spent that whole day in the sunlight. Interesting points you bring up. 

Thanks,


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Lostsoul said:


> I have minor bipolar issues so the risk of playing around with my sleep is too great. However I am interested in the comment about light. I tend to like to have my blinds closed so I don't get much sunlight most of the time. Does just having more light help your depression Caedmon? I'll ask my psychiatrist about this. Maybe I should keep myself in the sunlight all day and see how I feel. I've been depressed on sunny days though but I've never spent that whole day in the sunlight. Interesting points you bring up.
> 
> Thanks,


I agree! Light & sleep both have a big effect on mood, so i generally try to get plenty of rest, to avoid mood swingies.

I think having more light also has an antidepressant effect. I live in the pacific northwest, so sunlight is usually a welcome occurrence! By contrast, when I lived in Utah, we generally had too much light, and it would really increase my anxiety. I seem to be sensitive to the light I get.


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