The Long Night: Mood Disorders and REM Sleep 

March 2007 Online Feature

“Only when one cannot sleep does one know how long the night is.” This Chinese proverb is all too true for many people living with mood disorders. It’s already well-known that insomnia is a symptom of depression, as well as bipolar disorder’s depressive phase. A decreased need for sleep is also symptom of bipolar’s manic phase, and disrupted sleep or insomnia can sometimes actually trigger mania, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). However, many experts consider sleep to hold “some key secrets of mood disorders,” according to an August 2001 Blues Buster newsletter, published by Psychology Today.

One of these secrets may lie in the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep phase. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) states that REM sleep occurs during the last stage (stage 5) of the normal sleep cycle and that it accounts for about 25 percent of a normal night’s sleep. NSF describes REM sleep as the phase that “first occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep and increases over later part of night; necessary for providing energy to brain and body; brain is active and dreams occur as eyes dart back and forth…important to daytime performance and may contribute to memory consolidation [forming new memories].”

Research by sleep expert Michael Perlis, PhD, in Psychology Today’s July/August 2003 issue shows a link between depression and problems with REM sleep—those who are depressed move more quickly into the REM phase than other people do. And, even after their depression has lifted, they still have trouble with their REM sleep. The rush into REM sleep also seems to be a family trait—the immediate family members (parents, siblings, children) of those with depression seem to experience the same problem.

Perlis explains that the REM phase is associated with the part of the brain that manages emotional memory and information/memory processing. His research suggests that moving so quickly into REM sleep could mean that those with depression process more negative memories in their sleep. It also means that they get less of the deepest and most restorative sleep—stages 3 and 4. And NINDS reports that this restorative sleep helps people with their “emotional and social functioning while they are awake.”

One way to treat this trouble with sleep is through a technique called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Often used to treat depression itself, it also seems to help treat insomnia for those who are depressed. According to the American Psychological Association, CBT is 70-80 percent successful in clinical settings.

If you are living with a mood disorder, the night doesn’t have to be long and restless. Talk with your doctor if you are having trouble sleeping.

Additional Resources

For more general information about sleep, you may want to visit the following sites:

National Sleep Foundation
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/

Sleepless in America
http://sleeplessinamerica.org/

  

January Monthly Feature Results

Of all respondents:
100% believe SAD is a real illness
 84%  have experienced SAD

 

National Sleep Awareness Week


     March 5 - 11, 2007 		 

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Previous Monthly Features

January 2007 - Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
February 2007 - Black History Month

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