Posted by Mistermindmasta on August 28, 2004, at 10:17:59
In reply to Re: depression and sleep, posted by Mariposa on August 28, 2004, at 8:55:39
I think there are many subsets of depression. I think that one subset of "depression" is not actually a true depressive disorder, but rather it is only a sleeping disorder. I am lucky enough to have decent sleeping habits. As long as I don't have alcohol or caffeine at night, I WILL be able to sleep 8 or 9 hours straight. I NEED 8 or 9 hours sleep. If I happen to get 6 hours sleep, I feel significantly more stressed and unable to deal with life. If I eat crappy, use a lot of caffeine and alcohol, I would fall into what would most likely be with the depressive spectrum. Sleep, though, is very important, and I would just like to point out that the more sleep i get, the more my depressive symptoms are reduced. So then maybe I'm not even depressed (?), I don't know. I;ve never been diagnosed, I just know a whole based on what i read. It might be more that I have underactive ADD symptoms and when I get more sleep and treat myself right, I get more metabolic activity in that area of the brain that is associated especially with ADD - the prefrontal cortex. It's really tricky for most people to say that they distinctly have only 1 disorder.
Might I also point out that some people with depression sleep perfectly fine - actually sleep too much. The classical melancholic depression is indeed associated with early morning awakenings, but atypical depression (which is more common, as i remember) is associated with excessive sleeping. So, in my opinion, sleep is VERY important, but I wouldn't say 50% of all depressions are because of sleep problems. I might lower that number a good deal.
poster:Mistermindmasta
thread:382798
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040825/msgs/383296.html