Does sleep deprivation help with depression?

Absolutely not. sleep deprivation causes serious problems. Who is advising you?

I don’t think it’s good thing. It does havoc on your body not to mention the mind.

@Bend_Dover Ive been researching it online and i see that there is a renewed interest in the clinical uses of sleep deprivation. I just wanted to get opinions on the matter. Thanks for your comment.

I have read a paper on this, it has been going on since the 70’s long before effective antidepressants were evolved.

It clearly reports that the patients mood was surprisingly improved the next day.

I am all for any means of help for mental health issues. Some people are desperate and if simply altering your sleep pattern would help your depression then why the hell not?

Ive actually been trying this out and I found the same results. My mood is significantly improved the following day. Counter-intuitively, I have more energy and am more apt to socialize and be involved in daily affairs. Interesting stuff.

Sleep deprivation is harmful in the long run. It’s a contributing factor in depression. There’s a huge amount of literature to back this up. There’s not so much backing up the claims that it’s beneficial. I’m not sure if this will keep working well for you.

As someone who rarely sleeps enough I can tell everyone here I am certain: I am slowly killing myself.

Sleep dep in the very short term may elevate your mood as the body releases all sorts of chemical “lifters” (adrenaline and such) to help you cope with daily survival. In the longer term, it exacerbates depression. (Personal experience talking here…) In some cases, counselors and mental health care professionals will first work on sleep patterns to alleviate depressive symptoms.

Lack of sleep makes you crabby and then people will steer clear of you and tend to leave you alone and that can be a good thing.

If your goal is to be depressed, then yes, sleep deprevation can do wonders for you and be quite helpful.

One of the symptoms of bipolar disorder is getting little sleep. One of the pieces of advice that seems to be universal is for people to go to bed at a regular time and get 8 hours every night.

I have big doubts that long term sleep deprivation could have a beneficial effect on people with depression. But if someone could show me evidence to the contrary, I’d surely change my mind.

@KeithWilson When you say you have been trying it, what exactly do you mean? Typically, adults need 8 hours or so of sleep each night, but there are some people that actually function better on less sleep than that (around 6 hours or so). I’m one of those people. If I sleep more than 6 hours, I wake up feeling tired and I’m very slow moving. If I get 6 hours, I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start my day. It’s all really just a matter of what kind of rest you are getting while you are asleep. Sleep deprivation is when you don’t allow your body to get the rest it needs while sleeping. If you deprive yourself of that for too long, there can be many negative side effects.

Here is a list of sources to research. Any therapy method you use should only be done under the guidance of your physician. Do not try any experimental treatment by yourself.

@Seaofclouds Personally, I can function on about four hours of sleep. Any more and my body hates me for it. But I’m not the happiest person I know. Actually I’m mostly depressed when it comes to sleep deprivation.