睡眠不足能够对抗抑郁症
For those who suffer from clinical depression, there could be an unexpected source of solace. While long-term sleep deprivation and chronic insomnia can harm your mental and emotional health, in the short term, evidence suggests, going without sleep can help. Previous studies since the 1970s have noted a correlation between reduced REM sleep and improved depression symptoms. A 2002 study found that one whole night of sleep deprivation resulted in an improvement in 40-60 percent of patients, as did another one in 2010. A 2013 study attempted to find the mechanism, linking the effect to a type of brain cell that releases a protein important for sleep. Now a meta-analysis of 66 independent studies conducted between 1974 and 2016 has found that sleep deprivation rapidly reduces the symptoms of depression in roughly half of patients, at least when conducted in controlled inpatient settings. There were also different types of sleep deprivation represented, including total and partial, as well as short term and longer term. The team found that partial sleep deprivation, in which the patient was only allowed to sleep for 3-4 hours for one night followed by forced wakefulness for 20-21 hours, was just as effective at reducing depression symptoms as total sleep deprivation for 36 hours. But, hat there's a correlation between sleep deprivation and an improvement in symptoms doesn't mean that it can replace other treatments, though. Several studies have found that the effect only lasts as long as the patient stays awake following the sleep deprivation for up to 80 percent or more of respondents. Moreover, the researchers still don't know why sleep deprivation seems to result in a rapid and significant decrease in depression symptoms. The research has been published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. |