Eyes Wide Shut - How Sleep Affects Mood

This is how your sleep shapes up during an acute depressive episode: prolonged sleep latency, reduced total sleep time, reduced sleep efficiency (characterized by intrusions of wakefulness), reduced three and four (deep) sleep, reduced REM latency, and increased REM density. Also - increased body temperature, increased ACTH, cortisol, and cerebral metabolism (in non REM sleep), as well as decreased growth hormone TSH, prolactin, testosterone, and possibly melatonin.

I do not profess to understand exactly what all that means, but if my mechanic ever handed over a clipboard with something like that on it I would know it was time to get rid of my car.

Accordingly, sleep hygiene may be as important to fighting your depression as any medication or talking therapy, if not more so. Following are some recommended guidelines, based on the same Medscape article as above:

• Maintain a regular waking time.
• Avoid excessive time in bed.
• Avoid naps, except if you are a shift worker.
• Use the bed only for sleeping and sex.
• Avoid nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol. Note that caffeine is often loaded in other foods and medicines. Two tablets of Excedrin contain 130 mgs of caffein, about the same as a cup of brewed coffee, while twelve ounces of Sunkist orange soda contain 41.
• Exercise regularly, early in the day.
• Do something relaxing before bedtime.
• Don't watch the clock.
• Eat a light snack before bed if hungry.

In addition, according to the same article, it also pays to practice relaxing meditation, consider sleeping pills or sedating or activating antidepressants, and employing a form of behavioral therapy that conditions one to establishing regular sleeping schedules. Some of these behavioral techniques include:

• Going to bed only when sleepy.
• If unable to fall asleep within 15-20 minutes, moving to another room.
• Returning to bed only when sleepy.
• Adhering to a regular awakening time.
• Avoiding napping.

Also bear in mind that light at night is the enemy. A flick of the switch does more than turn on the lights. It throws out your body's biological rhythyms, as well. If you must go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, learn how to negotiate your mission with the lights out, and with the toilet seat down.

Additionally, one's antidepressant medications can be enrolled in the cause. The following have a sedative effect: Elavil, Sinequam, Surmontil, Serzone, Trazadone (Desyrel), and Remeron.

The activating antidepressants include: Vivactil, Wellbutrin, the SSRI's (Prozac, Zoloft, Luvox), Effexor, and the MAOIs.

For some people, a combination of antidepressants

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