Interestingly, total sleep deprivation seems to bring about a temporary improvement in the mood of nearly half of people diagnosed with depressive disorder bigger. This seems paradoxical, especially when we consider the experience of most new parents, who often attest that sleepless nights do not exactly lead to radiant mornings of happiness.
Study reveals link between happiness and sleep deprivation
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An intriguing study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania in the US used the MRI technique functional to investigate the brain functions of 54 healthy volunteers and 30 individuals diagnosed with depression bigger. The motivation behind this research derived from brain scans that revealed striking differences in key areas of the brain between the two groups.
All participants, with and without a diagnosis of depression, spent a long night awake reading, playing computer games, watching television, and not closing their eyes. They didn't consume caffeine or exercise, they just stayed awake until dawn. Of the total number of participants with no history of depression, 16 were selected for a control group and were given the opportunity to sleep well between tests.
Due to rest deprivation, the human brain does not operate as efficiently. A piece of tissue at the front of our brain, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, tends to work more slowly, making it difficult to concentrate. Under conditions of sleep deprivation, cognition is retarded, as is our ability to regulate emotions, as amygdala, a central element of the limbic system, begins to work beyond its limits, especially in response to stimuli negatives. Without the prefrontal cortex to mediate our thinking, we can become restless and irritable.
Sleep deprivation, however, has been studied since the beginning of psychiatric research as a potential treatment for depression, at least for a part of the individuals who experience this state of humor in a to be continued. In fact, in the recent survey, 13 out of 30 patients with major depression experienced an improvement in mood after a sleepless night. At the same time, a mood test given to people without depression showed, in general, the kind of tired malaise that is common when one is sleep-deprived.
Interestingly, this connection between the two brain regions remained relatively strong even after two nights of restful sleep. These observations provide new clues to understanding the possible mechanisms behind some cases of depression, especially in terms of how communication between areas of the brain that regulate emotions and cognition can be altered by deprivation of sleep.
However, it is important to point out that the regular sleep deprivation is not recommended for everyone. Sleep disturbances are associated with a higher risk of dementia later in life and manipulation of the biological clock can have significant consequences for our health, social life and daily routine. work.
That said, the study of changes in biological rhythms as a way to treat psychiatric conditions, a field known as chronotherapeutic, is gaining recognition. The findings suggest that a tweak to our biological clock can somehow reset processes regulatory frameworks that have been compromised, offering new hope for those suffering from the disorder major depressive.
Source: Sciencealert
