title: Clinical applicability of therapeutic sleep deprivation.
abstract: The short-term antidepressive effect of single sleep deprivation (SD) treatment has been unanimously confirmed in a large number of studies. SD is most effective in patients with a major depressive episode (with melancholic features) but is also promising in other depressed patients suffering from vital symptoms and exhibiting a typical diurnal variation in mood (with morning low) irrespective of the type of depression. The SD modification of choice is partial SD in the second half of the night. SD is an easily applied treatment measure that is free from serious side effects. The tolerability can be improved further by performing SD in groups. SD is to be administered repeatedly rather than once and combined with pharmacotherapy. The mechanism of action underlying therapeutic SD has not yet been discovered. However, for its favorable influence on the overall antidepressive treatment outcome, SD should not only be applied in therapy-resistant depression but is to be looked upon as part of the standard antidepressive somatotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuhs
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Töolle
keywords: (partial) sleep deprivation; combination with pharmacotherapy; depression; side effects