HomeBlogHealthcare ProviderDoes My Patient Have Depression or a Sleep Disorder? Does My Patient Have Depression or a Sleep Disorder? December 25, 2017Healthcare Provider Everyone has experienced a night or two of wakeful restlessness, or even a bit of self-diagnosed insomnia. There are many reasons for sleeplessness – a new baby, new job, a new mattress, a move to a new city, or watching TV too late into the night. But if these reasons have been dismissed and your patient is still going night after night without sleep, or they are able to sleep but still feel exhausted when waking up, there may be something else wrong. According to the Sleep Foundation, depression and sleep are intrinsically linked. A lack of sleep can contribute to the development of depression. Likewise, one of the key symptoms of depression are sleep disruptions – like sleeping too much or suffering from insomnia. “Sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions,” according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The organization states poor sleepers have an increased risk for health problems and diseases. Additionally, “sleep deprivation negatively impacts our mood, our ability to focus, and our ability to access higher-level cognitive functions.” According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, depression and sleep are intrinsically linked. A lack of sleep can lead to anxiety, frustration, and, ultimately, depression. Likewise, one of the key symptoms of depression are sleep disruptions – like sleeping too much or suffering from insomnia. Insomnia Can Lead to Depression True insomnia isn’t an intermittent bout of sleeplessness here and there. According to the DSM-5, (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Vol. 5), insomnia is defined as: “Difficulty initiating sleep Difficulty maintaining sleep, characterized by frequent awakenings or problems returning to sleep after awakenings, Early-morning awakening with inability to return to sleep.” People with insomnia can experience sleep disturbances at least three nights a week for as long as three months and beyond. Additionally, insomnia cannot be “explained away” by medical conditions that keep patients awake — sleeplessness caused by physical pain, for example, is not insomnia. When it sticks around long enough, insomnia can lead to depression. The HUNT Study, which was published in Psychosomatic Medicine (the Journal of Behavioral Medicine), evaluated questionnaires from 24,715 people to evaluate the association between insomnia and depression. According to the authors: “The results support a bidirectional relationship between insomnia and depression. This finding stands in contrast to the previous studies, which have mainly focused on insomnia as a risk factor for the onset of depression.” How Depression Impacts Sleep People with depression often report one of two issues with sleep: either sleeping too little or sleeping too much. Getting the right amount of sleep is important for a person’s physical and mental well-being as sleeps helps people Depression can modify how we sleep in three ways, according to Psychology Today: “Deep sleep, where we produce growth hormone, a stage critical for memory and decision making, may altogether disappear with depression. Awakenings and arousals increase dramatically. Sleep becomes highly fragmented. REM sleep is often broken up, and its very appearance changes. Rapid eye movements may appear both erratic and dense.” On the other side of the coin, depression can cause some people to sleep too much; this condition is called hypersomnia. People with hypersomnia can sleep more than 12 hours a day and still feel very sleepy throughout the day. Could Sleep Deprivation Help Depression? While it seems counter-intuitive, a recent meta-analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that patients with depression could see a reduction of their symptoms if they were subjected to sleep deprivation. According to researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, “partial sleep deprivation (sleep for three to four hours followed by forced wakefulness for 20-21 hours) was equally as effective as total sleep deprivation (being deprived of sleep for 36 hours), and medication did not appear to significantly influence these results.” Determining the Right Therapies In the best interest of your patient’s physical and mental health, investigating the cause of the sleep issues may help stop symptoms before they do turn into a sleep disorder or depression. Ensuring your patient gets the right help is very important. According to Psychology Today: “Depression and insomnia are clinical syndromes. Their many different symptoms are highly interrelated, and engage many similar brain areas and functions. So it makes sense that some things you do to prevent or treat one may help the other. Treating either usually requires a mix of different therapies, ranging from cognitive-behavioral to physical to pharmacologic to techniques of rest-relaxation.” Our articles are for informational purposes only and are reviewed by our Medical Information team, which includes PharmDs, MDs, and PhDs. Do not make any changes to your current medications or dosing without consulting your healthcare provider. The GeneSight test must be ordered by and used only in consultation with a healthcare provider who can prescribe medications. As with all genetic tests, the GeneSight test results have limitations and do not constitute medical advice. The test results are designed to be just one part of a larger, complete patient assessment, which would include proper diagnosis and consideration of your medical history, other medications you may be taking, your family history, and other factors. If you are a healthcare provider and interested in learning more about the GeneSight test, please contact us at 855.891.9415. If you are a patient, please talk with your doctor to see if the GeneSight test may be helpful. Published: December 25, 2017 Patient Hints To Help You Have A Better New Year The holidays have ended, and a new year has begun—a time when many embrace a fresh start by setting New Year’s resolutions. This year, why not consider s... Read more Patient Movement as Medicine: Solutions for Anxiety Moving forward. It sounds like a nice idea, especially when you’re feeling stuck deep in the throes of an anxiety spiral. But it turns out that physically m... 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Read more Healthcare Provider Antidepressant Withdrawal or Depression Reoccurrence? What Healthcare Providers Should Know People who stop taking antidepressants may do so for many reasons: they may feel like it isn’t working, may feel unable to cope with side effects, or may not fe... Read more Learn more Learn more about GeneSight How to talk to your provider View our clinical studies
Patient Hints To Help You Have A Better New Year The holidays have ended, and a new year has begun—a time when many embrace a fresh start by setting New Year’s resolutions. This year, why not consider s... Read more
Patient Movement as Medicine: Solutions for Anxiety Moving forward. It sounds like a nice idea, especially when you’re feeling stuck deep in the throes of an anxiety spiral. But it turns out that physically m... Read more
Patient Weight-Loss Drugs and Mental Health: What You Need to Know New medications for weight loss seem to be flying off pharmacy shelves these days. But could they be linked to mental health conditions? Researchers are ... Read more
Patient 3 million patients (and counting!) have now taken the GeneSight test! We’re thrilled to share that 3 million patients (and counting!) have now taken the GeneSight test! We're so grateful to the dedicated healthcare providers who... Read more
Patient The Model Minority Myth and Mental Health The model minority myth stereotypes one cultural group, typically Asian Americans, as “intelligent, hard-working, and diligent and therefore more academically, ... Read more
Healthcare Provider How Clinicians Can Help Support Their Patients Who Are Being Bullied How Clinicians Can Help Support Their Patients Who Are Being Bullied Acts of bullying can cause feelings of fear, loneliness and sadness, as well as depressi... Read more
Patient Cyberbullying: Unique Challenges and Impacts ‘We lost our daughter to cyberbullying.’ McKenna Brown was an accomplished hockey player and scholar, known for her kindness, when she became the target of int... Read more
Going Beyond Green, Yellow, Red on the GeneSight Report This blog summarizes key points discussed during the March 2024 GeneSight® Engage webinar Participants: Bernie Ranchero, MD, MS, MBA, medical direc... Read more
Healthcare Provider Top 5 Reasons Patients Stop Their Mood Disorder Treatment Mood disorder treatment for depression can be challenging – and patients may become frustrated when treatments don’t work. In fact, when people with depres... Read more
Patient The Impact of Gratitude on Depression and Anxiety “Say ‘Thank you,” a mother reminds her young kiddo. “T.G.I.F.!” we cheer at the end of a long week. We know it’s important to be thankful. But do we ... Read more
Patient The Silent Thief: The 5 Things Depression Can Steal “Depression is a thief,” writes Abhinav Chaurasia, a marketing automation specialist in an essay on LinkedIn. “It steals your joy, your motivation, and your abi... Read more
Patient How to Talk to Your Doctor about Anxiety Medication “When I was 27, I felt bad all the time,” writes Joanna Goddard on the popular Cup of Jo blog. She describes her initial experience with anxiety in detail. ... Read more
Healthcare Provider Building Trust by Reducing Bias: The GeneSight Test as a Tool for Mental Health Equity This blog summarizes key points discussed during Myriad Mental Health’s July 2022 Webinar: Building Trust by Reducing Bias: The GeneSight Test as a Tool for Men... Read more
Patient Anxiety and older adults: What to look for and how to help “It’s not how old you are. It’s how you are, old.” - French author Jules Renard Mental health is important at every age. But when people experience an a... Read more
Patient Adult ADHD: Symptoms, treatment, where to start Many people may incorrectly think ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, only impacts children. After all, according to the Centers for Disease C... Read more
Healthcare Provider It’s time to talk suicide: addressing stigma around a difficult topic Trigger Warning: This webinar discusses suicide. If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. ... Read more
Patient Stress Relief Methods for Family Caregivers Caring for a loved one can be a rewarding and meaningful experience. However, the day in and day out of taking care of someone who is unwell also can be challen... Read more
Healthcare Provider Healthcare Professional Burnout and Links to Depression When Dr. Lorna Breen, an ER doc in Manhattan, died by suicide in April 2020, it opened up a public discussion about the burdens faced by healthcare professi... Read more
Healthcare Provider Antidepressant Withdrawal or Depression Reoccurrence? What Healthcare Providers Should Know People who stop taking antidepressants may do so for many reasons: they may feel like it isn’t working, may feel unable to cope with side effects, or may not fe... Read more