Sleep Therapy Seen as an Aid for Depression
Source: New York Times
Curing insomnia in people with depression could double their chance of a full recovery, scientists are reporting. The findings, based on an insomnia treatment that uses talk therapy rather than drugs, are the first to emerge from a series of closely watched studies of sleep and depression to be released in the coming year.
The new report affirms the results of a smaller pilot study, giving scientists confidence that the effects of the insomnia treatment are real. If the figures continue to hold up, the advance will be the most significant in the treatment of depression since the introduction of Prozac in 1987.
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The study is the first of four on sleep and depression nearing completion, all financed by the National Institute of Mental Health. They are evaluating a type of talk therapy for insomnia that is cheap, relatively brief and usually effective, but not currently a part of standard treatment.
The new report, from a team at Ryerson University in Toronto, found that 87 percent of patients who resolved their insomnia in four biweekly talk therapy sessions also saw their depression symptoms dissolve after eight weeks of treatment, either with an antidepressant drug or a placebo pill almost twice the rate of those who could not shake their insomnia. Those numbers are in line with a previous pilot study of insomnia treatment at Stanford.
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Doctors have long considered poor sleep to be a symptom of depression that would clear up with treatments, said Rachel Manber, a professor in the psychiatry and behavioral sciences department at Stanford, whose 2008 pilot trial of insomnia therapy provided the rationale for larger studies. But we now know thats not the case, she said. The relationship is bidirectional that insomnia can precede the depression.
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/health/treating-insomnia-to-heal-depression.html?hpw&rref=health&_r=0&pagewanted=all
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)Every MD, NP and PA worth a lick addresses sleep issues, diet and exercise first.
BTW, this article states, "Doctors have long considered poor sleep to be a symptom of depression that would clear up with treatments." Yeah, sort of. In truth, I don't know any doctor or health care provider worth a lick who hasn't focused on improving sleep in order to help the patient move toward functionality.
I just despise the way the press pushes nonsense as "fact."
adirondacker
(2,921 posts)life. You have to be able to afford the proper diet(thinking farmers market and coop). The exercise, such as biking and hiking, would probably come easy.
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)Unfortunately, the data does not bear that out. Humans need more, apparently.
Not that the basics aren't first and foremost important.
olddad56
(5,732 posts)I have both, and I think that the depression came first.
FLyellowdog
(4,276 posts)nolabear
(41,915 posts)And it's a vicious circle. I always ask my therapy patients about everything, diet, sleep, stressors, vitamins, everything I can think of, and sometimes request a physical. We are, after all, a mind/body.
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)More recent evidence indicates that stressors, such as not getting enough sleep, are the primary predictors of depression and anxiety.
dreamnightwind
(4,775 posts)For me the insomnia came first, most of my life actually. Everyone is no doubt different. I'm going to look into this, it might help.
Good luck with your troubles.
Deep13
(39,154 posts)enigmatic
(15,021 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)The sample sizes are small, so I would think someone will need to duplicate the study with a larger one. I tried looking for the actual study, but it may actually not be in print until next month.
CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)Trouble is, they haven't looked close enough...yet. Because of modern sciences' rather narrow view of conciousness we don't put much value in the 'dream state' which is likely the active ingredient in these initial discoveries.
Having a more thorough understanding of conciousness would allow simple therapies like inducing a dream, being effective in curing far more than "depression".
If you're caught up in wondering which came first, insomnia or depression, sleep on it. Trust your dream.
.
RosettaStoned77
(53 posts)Try sleeping to classical music. Andres Segovia is a fav of mine.