Is Not Sleeping A Sign Of Depression

Feeling Guilty All The Time

6 Signs You’re Depressed, Not Lazy

Guilt is a perfectly normal feeling. If you do something you regret, guilt will follow. The thing with depression though, is that it can cause feelings of guilt over nothing or over everything.

Feeling guilty is actually a symptom of depression and its the reason why when I experience depression, I feel like Im taking on the ills of the world. For example, people with depression may feel guilty about not being able to help people who are victims of a natural disaster and this, in turn, makes them feel that theyre worthless.

Of course, feeling guilty about things closer to home, such as feeling incredibly guilty over a disagreement, is even more common.

Does Depression Cause An Unusual Sleep Pattern Or Does An Unusual Sleep Pattern Cause Depression

Many people with depression experience poor sleep, either in the form of sleeping too little or too much.

In fact, when people seek treatment for poor sleep, many of them also exhibit symptoms consistent with depression2. Conversely, people seeking treatment for depression will often complain of poor sleep3.

âPoor sleepâ can entail:

Taking a long time to fall alseep
Waking up frequently during the night
Lying awake for a large period of the time spent in bed
Not feeling refreshed after time asleep.

All of this can culminate in the low mood, difficulty concentrating, lethargy and daytime tiredness that people living with depression are all too familiar with2.

Even though the sleep that those with depression experience is poor, thatâs not to say that depression causes a lack of sleep. In fact, many people living with depression experience hypersomnia, the condition of sleeping too much.

Nevertheless, if that sleep is poor quality sleep then it wonât help daytime functioning.

Itâs also a sad fact that a link has been observed between extremes of sleep time and suicide risk but this may not be attributable directly to depression4.

At this point, itâs worth asking âwhy does depression affect sleep?â

You Can’t Control Your Emotions

Mood swings are a part of life, especially when we’re dealing with an unpredictable virus that’s changed our daily lives. But if you feel like you can’t control your emotions most of the time, you may be dealing with depression.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , symptoms of depression may include, “feeling sad or anxious often or all the time and feeling irritable, easily frustrated or restless.” If your emotions are all over the place, talk to a counselor as soon as possible.

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The Treatment Of Insomnia Disorder Without Depression

Figure 2

Sedative-hypnotic drugs are commonly used for the treatment of insomnia, but long-term use of such drugs may lead to tolerance and even exacerbate sleep disturbances., Sedating antidepressants at low dosages are often prescribed to insomnia patients. The TCA amitriptyline, trimipramine and doxepin, the serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor trazodone and the tetracyclic antidepressant mirtazapine have been found to improve total sleep time and sleep efficiency and reduce wake after sleep onset and latency to persistent sleep., However, due to the lack of randomized clinical trials, only doxepin is approved by FDA and recommended for the treatment of insomnia. Moreover, different antidepressants may in turn cause different sleep disturbances, such as RLS, sleep bruxism, REM behaviour disorder and nightmares, as well as weight gain, which is contraindicated in patients with obstructive sleep apnea., – In our opinion, sedative antidepressants are safe in low doses, for example, for doxepin as low as 3-6 mg, which can be applied in patients when hypnotics are contraindicated, for example, elderly patients, patients with sleep apnea and patients with a history of alcohol and substance abuse.

A ‘depression Nap’ May Not Mean Youre Depressed

Most often, clinical depression is connected to some form of insomnia, said Dr. Rochelle Zak, a sleep medicine specialist at the University of California San Francisco Sleep Disorders Center.

Depression is less likely to result in daytime sleepiness, Zak said. Often, people are hyper-aroused, so they would love to nap but they cant.

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Tips For Better Sleep

Many lifestyle tips for coping with depression can also improve sleep. Tips for targeting sleep issues often focus on improving sleep hygiene , which are behaviors that have been shown to benefit sleep health:

Exercise More: Getting sufficient exercise improves sleep quality , makes it easier to fall asleep, and reduces daytime sleepiness.
Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule: Going to sleep and getting up at the same time every day may help sync your drive to sleep and your circadian rhythm. Since irregular sleep schedules are associated with daytime sleepiness and lower sleep quality, its important to maintain a consistent sleep schedule even on the weekends.
Reserve the Bed For Sleep and Sex: People who use their bed for activities other than sleeping may begin to associate their bedroom with these unhelpful habits. One behavioral approach to treating insomnia is to restrict the bed to only two activities : sleep and sex.
Create a Nighttime Routine: Before bed, give yourself some time to wind down and relax. Turn off the TV, silence your cell phone, and find activities that help you ease into bed. Some people find reading, journaling, or taking a warm bath before bed to be helpful.
Revamp Your Bedroom: Making sure that your bedroom is optimized for sleep can make a big difference. Reduce noise and light that may keep you awake, make sure the bedroom temperature is comfortable, and consider bedroom scents to help you relax.

Thoughts Of Death Or Suicide

A person with depression may think more about death and dying. They may also think about suicide and how they could end their life. These thoughts are called suicide ideation.

Sometimes, a person may tell others about these thoughts. If someone is talking about death or suicide, this may be their way of asking for help, and it is vital to seek assistance.

In severe cases of depression, a person may hurt themselves, or self-harm.

Depression is a common but serious condition that can be life threatening. Not every person who thinks about suicide will attempt it. However, if someone mentions suicide, either contact a doctor or help them seek urgent medical care.

Getting Help For Depression

The fundamental treatment protocol for depression involves a combination of medication and psychotherapy:

Psychotherapy. One-on-one talk therapy sessions allow the therapist to guide the individual toward resolving unaddressed emotional issues that may be contributing to the depression. These may involve past trauma, childhood abuse, grief and loss, divorce, and other painful life events. Cognitive behavioral therapy is useful for helping to guide patients toward established more self-affirming thoughts that lead to positive thought/behavior patterns. Group therapy sessions, such as a depression support group, can also be beneficial to individuals being treated for depression.
Medication. Antidepressant drug therapy is the industry standard for depression treatment. There are dozens of antidepressants on the market today. These include SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, and tricyclic antidepressants. The drugs vary in how they impact brain chemistry, and dosing adjustments or even changing to a different drug is common when trying to find the best fit for each patient.

Treatment Of Sleep Deprivation

6 Less Obvious Signs of Depression

Good sleep hygiene is the antidote to sleep deprivation. People accumulate sleep debt when they lose a specified amount of sleep each night, and the only way to repay that debt is to get more sleep.

Try these strategies to improve your sleep hygiene:

Set a specific schedule for sleep and wake times, including weekends and vacations
Go to bed when tired
Avoid eating 2-3 hours before bed
Engage in daily exercise
If unable to sleep after twenty minutes, go to another room to read until sleepy
Avoid using any electronics in the bedroom
Turn off electronics one hour before bed
Keep the bedroom quiet, dark, and cool

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Difficulty Concentrating Remembering And Making Decisions

Depression can interfere with a persons cognitive abilities. They may have trouble focusing or concentrating on personal or professional matters. They may also struggle to make decisions, including small, everyday choices.

People with depression may also find that they cannot remember things as well as they did previously. They may forget appointments or commitments and might not recall things that they said or did recently.

Relationship Between Depression And Insomnia

Depressive symptoms: Goodpath’s internal data shows that 79% of our sleep assessment respondents also have symptoms of depression and/or anxiety.
Diagnosis of depression: Trouble sleeping is also a common symptom when someone is diagnosed with clinical depression.

If youre able to sleep better, it may help with depression and other mental disorders. Likewise, treatment for mental disorders, including depression, may lessen or even resolve your sleep problems.

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A Sign Of Atypical Depression

Dr. Drerup says that oversleeping is a symptom in 15% of people with depression and she notes that it tends to more often be related to atypical depression.

Atypical depression is a specific type of depression in which the persons mood can improve in response to a positive event. But even though their mood may brighten, its only temporary and the root depression remains.

Often, they dont realize theyre depressed, Dr. Drerup adds. Besides oversleeping, other symptoms are increased appetite and interpersonal sensitivity, like the feeling of being rejected. And that depression feeds into other reasons sleep can be so greatly affected.

Tips For Sleeping Better

Sleep problems can increase the risk of initially developing depression, and persistent sleep issues can also increase the risk of relapse in people who have successfully been treated for depression. As a result, taking some of the following steps can both help you sleep better, boost your mood, and help decrease some of the problematic symptoms of depression.

What Are The Effects Of Lack Of Sleep And Depression

Not getting enough restful sleep can affect your emotional health. In other words, a chronic lack of sleep can cause depression. Although it is unlikely that lack of sleep alone can be the sole cause of depression, it combined with other factors can trigger depression in some people. Links between depression and lack of sleep have been commonly found in studies.

Some of the well-established effects of lack of sleep on depression are:

That people with insomnia have a significantly higher risk of developing depression.
Other sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome are associated with a higher probability that an individual will suffer from depression. It has also been shown that the treatment of sleep apnea also improves the depression as well.
Children with depression who experience irregular sleep patterns are more likely to have longer and more severe episodes of depression.

But the good news is that when it comes to treating patients who exhibit symptoms of depression and a chronic lack of sleep, treating one condition can help better treat the other.

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Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast

Hosted by Editor-in-Chief and therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares what it means to have ‘existential depression,’ featuring Melissa & Doug’s co-founder Melissa Bernstein.

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Symptoms of depression can occur along a spectrum both in duration and severity. Mild depression can occur during periods of stress but resolve with time and may not require any specific treatment. Moderate to severe depression causes chronic symptoms and usually requires at least one form of treatment, if not multiple treatments.

Generally speaking, severe depression requires some type of treatment to find some relief. Additionally, depression severity can change over time, growing increasingly worse or alternating between mild and severe during the same depressive episode.

If someone has severe depression, they may self-harm, have suicidal thoughts, or be at risk for attempting suicide. If you are severely depressed, help is available to help you manage your symptoms and ensure your safety and well-being.

How Treating Depression Can Affect Lack Of Sleep In Patients

7 Signs Of Depression

Treating insomnia can also help patients exhibit reduced symptoms of depression. But researchers warn that it is important to address the depression that exists independently of the sleep issues, to ensure that the patient will have less trouble getting restful sleep.

Researchers say it’s a chicken or the egg question when it comes to figuring out what came first- the insomnia or the depression.

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Feeling Down And Being Depressed Is Not The Same

Symptoms of depression can affect a person physically, mentally, and emotionally. Common symptoms include trouble sleeping, appetite changes, and problems concentrating. They affect how you think, what you do, and how you feel physically. A depressed person may not feel motivated to do their usual activities. A person may feel low on energy, lack interest in activities they once enjoyed, or want to isolate themselves from others. Relationships with family members, friends, and coworkers may be affected.

Someone experiencing symptoms of depression may not take care of themselves as they should. The way they think about their health, such as how to manage chronic issues such as arthritis, diabetes, or high blood pressure, may leave one feeling discouraged. When a depressed person feels hopeless, self-care is less of a priority and potentially increasing personal health risks. Depression is a medical condition that affects you emotionally and physically. However, these elements are influenced by each other, leaving a drastic effect on a persons thoughts and actions.

Suicidal Thoughts: An Emergency

For people who are severely depressed, suicide is a real threat. Each year, about 30,000 people in the U.S. take their own lives, although the true number may be higher. Some suicides go unrecognized because they’re classified as accidents, drug overdoses, or shootings. Among people whose depression remains untreated, up to 15% will kill themselves.

What are the warning signs of suicide? According to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, they include:

Talking about wanting to die or wanting to kill yourself
Looking for a way to kill yourself, such as searching online for methods or buying a gun
Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live
Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
Talking about being a burden to others
Increasing use of alcohol or drugs
Acting anxious or agitated behaving recklessly
Sleeping too little or too much
Withdrawing or feeling isolated
Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
Displaying extreme mood swings

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Should I Contact My Doctor

Participating in Goodpaths sleep program can help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and improve your overall sleep quality. Improving your sleep can also help with depression.

Our program addresses sleep disturbances and sleep disorders without the use of sleeping pills. It includes cognitive behavioral therapy specific to insomnia , mind-body techniques, supplements, and nutritional support.

The first step is our 5-minute assessment, which allows us to look at your specific symptoms and needs. Start your free assessment today.

Change In Eating Habits

Our appetite and eating habits can also be impacted by depression. Some people may experience an increased appetite, while others have less of an appetite or not be hungry at all. If you are also noticing changes in your sleep habits, like the ones listed above, you may also notice changes in the way you eat. This is because sleep helps regulate our hunger hormones, which help to keep us from over- or undereating.

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Psychological Effects Of Sleep Deprivation

Besides making you feel drowsy and out of it, sleep deprivation can have major effects on your mental health. Sleep deprivation has been associated with an increased risk of:

Changes in mood and behavior such as increased irritability, anxiety, depression, and impulsivity
Issues with higher-level thinking like judgment, planning, and organization
Trouble concentrating and lower reaction times linked to a higher risk of accidents and injury and decreased productivity and performance at work and school
Disorientation, paranoia, and hallucinations

Sleep issues like insomnia, sleep apnea, and sleep-wake disorders often coincide with mental health conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder , posttraumatic stress disorder , and schizophrenia.

Sure Signs You May Be Getting Depression According To Experts

Life is weird right now. Because of COVID-19, we’re all getting vaccinated and slowly coming out of our shells. In such strange times, your mood is bound to be negatively affected. But it’s important to check in on your mental health to ensure you’re not facing a bigger problem: depression. Check out these 20 subtle signs you may be depressed. Read onand to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss theseSymptoms Everyone Needs to Know About During This Pandemic.

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