title: Letter to the editor: The effect of ECT on sleep--a comment to Winkler et al.
abstract: Recent publications in this journal have suggested that successful electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in depressed patients is associated with a phase advance, similar to what has been reported with antidepressant medications. Herein we review the effects of ECT on polysomnographic (PSG) sleep, and we conclude with the observation that ECT reliably increases PSG total sleep time and probably has a suppressive effect on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Remarkably, there is less information available on the topic of the effect of ECT on the patient's perception of their sleep.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. Electronic address: wmccall@gru.edu.
authors.forename: W Vaughn
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: McCall
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Rosenquist
mesh_terms: D056044:Actigraphy; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D061218:Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant / Q000628:therapy*; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012890:Sleep
keywords: Actigraphy; Electroconvulsive therapy; Insomnia; Phase advance; Polysomnography; Sleep