Depression therapy and depression treatment

Sleep challenges are one of the more pervasive and frequent symptoms of depression. In fact, sleep disturbances are reported on almost all instances of depression. (1 )

Many people with depression note that they are unable to sleep, experience insomnia, or are unable to stay asleep as a part of their depression experience. There is also a more limited number of depression sufferers that report oversleeping or the desire to sleep all the time as a symptom of their depression experience. This can be confusing, but there is an explanation.

Let’s start with addressing insomnia or the lack of sleep as a symptom of depression.

The research indicates that there may be a cyclic relationship between sleep challenges and depression. ( 2 ) Similar to the age old story of the chicken and the egg, it is sometimes challenging to identify which came first, but the presence of seep challenges contributes to depression and depression makes quality sleep more challenging in reciprocating fashion.

It is suspected that the connection between depression and sleep challenges may be due to the fact that interruptions in sleep cycles or interruptions in the circadian rhythms have been found to correlate with interruptions in serotonin production and interfere with the body’s stress response system. (3) (Serotonin levels are a very important aspect of depression management and treatment)

So what about those that sleep all the time when depression increase?

The presents of oversleeping with depression is also a researched and validated occurrence though it tends to be present in a smaller portion of the population. Cleveland clinic has researched this occurrence and has found several possible reasons for oversleeping. These include:

Depression fatigue and depression treatment.

Using sleep as a form or escaping from negative thought patterns of depressed feelings
The presence of sleep apnea or other sleep disorders that interfere with truly restful or restorative sleep, increasing fatigue and the desire to sleep.
Delayed sleep patterns that may interfere with the body’s natural clock, causing one to sleep later or oversleep in the morning. (4)

Oversleeping as a sign of depression can be particular challenging for teens struggling with depression. Teens naturally tend to sleep more and later than adults and longer children. Teens who struggle with depression are also identified to oversleep as a part of depressive patterns at a higher than adults. This can make it even more challenging for parents to detect depression symptoms in teens.

Treatment for Depression based sleep concerns.

Thankfully there are options for treating depression and the sleep related challenges that accompany depression. Treatment options include

Behavioral modification:
- Thing like increasing sleep hygiene routines, exercise, healthy eating, and mindfulness practices are all associated with positive sleep quality and depression outcomes.
Therapy:
- Our thoughts and mental wellbeing has a major impact on sleep regulation and depression symptoms. Trained depression therapist can work with clients to address contributing thought pattern, increase regulation skills and improve the thought that help positive sleep patterns. Cognitive behavioral therapy has even been adapted to specifically target and assess insomnia related concerns (5)
Medical interventions:
- Seeking help from a doctor may also be an important step and medical doctors can rule out any potential underly8ing causes of the depression or sleep concerns, assist in medication management if needed and track any potential psychological concerns associated with the individual symptoms.

If you are looking for more support in managing sleep distress and or depression symptoms, depression therapy can help. Our Arlington, Tx based therapy practice is trained to provider depression therapy and treatment. Connect with us online though our online therapy service or in person.

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