How Sleep Can Cause Depression
Depression is a mood disorder that causes extreme sadness. It often can be severe, rendering the person almost helpless. Those who suffer from depression may have symptoms that include extreme feelings of sadness, feeling hopeless or worthless, and often may be anxious or suffer from panic attacks. The physical symptoms include feeling extremely fatigued, have a profound lack of energy, may have changes in appetite or weight and have a change in sleeping patterns. Depression is classified as major if the person suffers from several or more symptoms for longer than two weeks.
Insomnia, or the inability to sleep, is one of the signs of depression. To a lesser extent, the desire to oversleep or sleep too much is also a sign of depression. While doctors agree that lack of sleep or oversleep alone cannot cause depression it can be a contributing factor. Lack of sleep for long periods of time can make depression worse. The inability to sleep well over a long period of time may be a warning sign of depression.
Medications that are typically taken for depression are classified as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These drugs help to quickly treat the symptoms of depression helping people to resume a more normal life more quickly. These drugs have names such as Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac and Celexa. The problem with these medications is that they can cause problems sleeping. For patients who already have sleep problems these drugs can wreak havoc on their systems and cause even further difficulties.
Hypnotics are a class of medications for those patients who have trouble sleeping. These include Ambien, Sonata and Restoril, to name a few. Doctors may prescribe the use of an SSRI along with a hypnotic medication. This is a short-term fix, however, because hypnotics can only be taken for a short period of time.
The use of psychotherapy can help people with depression and can also address coping skills to help improve a patient’s ability to learn how to fall asleep. In addition to medications, psychotherapy can be quite helpful. Other ways to improve sleep include learning relaxation techniques. These techniques teach deep breathing to help you relax.
Getting regular exercise can also help people who have both depression and sleep problems. Exercise helps to clear the mind as well as provides activity for the body. Exercise no later than several hours before planning to go to bed. Avoid the use of nicotine, caffeine and alcohol. These all provide stimulation to the body and can cause medications to work improperly.
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