Sleep and depression.
Depression results in severe sleep disturbance. The "depressed brain" takes longer to initiate sleep, shortens the period to dreaming sleep, spends little or no time in "deep sleep" and is subject to hyperactive brain regions during sleep. Antidepressants rectify the sleep disturbance and restore normal sleep architecture and presumably normal brain metabolism during sleep. Early intervention may lead to a decrease in neuronal cell loss due to depression, and better long-term outcomes for mood disorders.
Slaughter
James R
JR
Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, USA.
D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*