Sleep Deprivation as Rapid Depression Treatment: Surprising Research Findings

Sleep deprivation is well known as a factor that can trigger symptoms of depression. Surprisingly, a new review finds that for patients who already suffer from clinical depression, lack of sleep may actually improve their condition.

A research team from the University of Pennsylvania, led by psychiatrist Professor Philip Gehrman, reviewed studies conducted over the past 30 years, focusing on 66 high-quality trials. These studies found that partial sleep deprivation (sleeping for just 3–4 hours followed by staying awake for 20–21 hours) significantly reduced depression symptoms. The same effect was found with total sleep deprivation- remaining awake for 36 hours. It’s important to note that all the sleep deprivation in these studies was conducted under medical supervision and hospitalization.

In all the studies reviewed, between 40% and 60% of patients showed substantial improvement in depressive symptoms within 24 hours of the treatment. This contrasts with antidepressant medications, which typically take several weeks to begin showing effects. Meanwhile, the percentage of adults in the U.S. using antidepressants continues to rise, currently standing at 16.7% of the adult population. This raises an important question posed by the researchers: Shouldn’t we consider trying sleep deprivation therapy before turning to medication?

"The studies in our analysis show that sleep deprivation is effective across all types of populations," the researchers stated. "It didn’t matter how sleep was restricted, which type of response was measured, or what form of depression the patient had- we found nearly identical improvement rates in all cases."

Still, the researchers emphasize that further studies are needed to better understand exactly how sleep deprivation leads to such a rapid and significant reduction in depressive symptoms.