Discussion Intentional sleep deprivation for alleviation of depression symptoms

[İnilerim]

Something weird happened today; I had another all-nighter binge consuming information. That happens sometimes but usually I try to avoid it. Though towards early morning I noticed how my thoughts and sense for my emotional composition started getting unusually sharp. This is not the first time this happened, I remember it being exactly like this 4 years ago when I drove home from the airport completely sleep deprived, like I could suddenly for a brief moment read the "matrix" of my inner self, a giant image of webs of past trauma laying crystal clear before me to touch and inspect.

And then today a memory hit me: At a therapy session two weeks ago, my therapist suggested intentional sleep deprivation as a chemical-free method for temporarily raising the mood (although he mentioned this effect usually disappears again after sleeping). Back then I vehemently declined because I normally respond very badly to missing sleep.

Immediately I googled around and there is indeed prior work on this topic, I am floored:

Therapeutic use of sleep deprivation in depression - PubMed

Total sleep deprivation (TSD) for one whole night improves depressive symptoms in 40-60% of treatments. The degree of clinical change spans a continuum from complete remission to worsening (in 2-7%). Other side effects are sleepiness and (hypo-) mania. Sleep deprivation (SD) response shows up in...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Wake therapy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I had never heard of this before. Does anyone else have experience with it? Personally, this effect seems a lot rarer than the times I have been sleep deprived in the past, but I'm not sure what triggers it yet.

 

[timf]

Many years ago I once worked six shifts in a row. The most difficult was the third one. However, after that it was like I got a second wind. The next three shifts were OK, but I was not at 100%.

I would be careful though because sleep deprivation can cause physical stress.

 

[Pure]

That's very interesting. Lack of sleep just exacerbates me. I wonder if the difference is that studies are controlled environments.

 

[Sisyphus]

I used to have a job where I would wake up occasionally at a really early time, between 1am and 3am. Since I am naturally a night owl, I did not get much sleep and I felt exhaisted for the day. Even so, I was in a much better mood and more productive for that day alone.

 

[LittleJem]

I watched a video on this. They also used light machines in the morning, so it was the sleep deprivation plus the light machines.

I have also tried it. It has maybe worked forme twice, but it only lasts a day when it has helped. I wish it was a cure for me!

Some peopel in the documentary had had relief from it.

 

[İnilerim]

Yeah, the effect surprised me because I had been sleep deprived many times before but I only remember it kicking it at a few specific dates. Definitely not consistent for me either.