After years of thinking that insomnia was a side effect of depression, experts have finally found a clearer link between bleary-eyed nights and extreme sadness.
"Insomnia is more than a symptom; it's a risk factor for major depression," says Dr. Michael Perlis, director of the University of Rochester Sleep and Neurophysiology Research Lab, and author of two studies linking insomnia and depression. The important suggestion, he adds, is that fixing sleep problems may help prevent an emotional slide and often a much easier task than treating depression itself.
Insomnia and Depression
One study, presented at a 2005 meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, looked at data from over 1,800 men and women aged 65 or older and found that depressed patients with insomnia were 17 times more likely to remain depressed a year later as compared to those who were sleeping well.
Elderly patients are often the focus of depression research as it is estimated that over 2 million older adults are affected, and 18 percent of all suicide deaths occur in this population. Previous studies have also shown that 42 percent of older adults have some sort of trouble sleeping.
This first finding confirmed the belief that there is a link between insomnia and depression, but much like the chicken versus egg debate, it still did not explain which came first—the depression that causes insomnia or the insomnia that leads to depression.
Copyright 2009 NBC Health
Click here to read the rest of the article at HealthVideo.com
