Therapeutic sleep deprivation in depressives, restricted to the two nocturnal hours between 3:00 and 5:00.
1. In 33 patients with a depressive syndrome the effects of partial SD restricted to the 2 hours between 3:00 and 5:00 in the morning was compared to that of no SD (= undisturbed sleep, n = 17) and total SD (n = 16) in a balanced crossover design. 2. Partial SD had a moderate antidepressant effect which is, however, clearly inferior to that of total SD. 3. Reasons for the scarceness of the effect may be an inappropriate timing of this 2-hr SD period (which seems improbable), too short a duration of SD, or the resumption of sleep at 5 o'clock. 4. "Intermediate" SD in the form it was used here represents no therapeutic advantage as we had expected. Its moderate effects lend support to the hypothesis that sleep disturbance is a sign of (mostly insufficient) restorative or self-healing efforts of the depressive organism.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Tübingen, West Germany.
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Giedke
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Wormstall
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Haffner
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012892:Sleep Deprivation