Does Depression Cause Insomnia?

 

The link between depression and insomnia is becoming more prominent in patients. In fact statistics have shown that about 30% of all Americans will at some point experience some form of depression and 40% of those patients will complain that they’re unable to get sleep. Knowing whether or not depression causes insomnia, or insomnia causes depression is still a debatable topic, that is still being argued today.

Sleeplessness One of the Main Symptoms of Depression

You will find that most people who have been diagnosed as being clinically depressed often complain of the inability to get sleep. Insomnia is a serious symptom which if not treated could cause your depression to worsen. While using sleeping pills might seem like the most effective solution in depressed patients it is found to be only a temporary resolve. The reason is because without fully treating the depression the sleeplessness will continue to return. It is also common for sleep medications to stop working altogether. However, because depression has also been linked to oversleeping or prolonged sleeping patterns, it is still undetermined which disease causes the other to occur.

Forced Insomnia for Treating Depression

There are some studies out there now stating that keeping up normal, healthy individuals for the night could create a transient euphoria, whereas keeping up a depressed individual for the night could cause them to feel in a better mood. However, this good mood tends to disappear as they get ready to go to sleep which is why many find it difficult. While this is still in research phase, many medical professionals disagree with depriving a depressed patient of sleep with the hopes of treating their mental health.

Insomnia Has Been Proven to Lead to Depression

Now on the other end of the spectrum there are the studies that state that insomnia can lead to depression. A study conducted by a professor by the name of Jules Angst showed that the longer the citizens of Zurich were sleep deprived the more depressed they became. As insomnia transformed from temporary to chronic levels of depression deepened and become prolonged as well. There have been backup studies that support these findings in showing that those who had difficulty sleeping each night were far more likely to develop depression. Studies are being generated across the globe supporting that any level of sleeplessness can potentially lead to higher levels of depression.

The Verdict: What Causes What?

So now that you have a better understanding of insomnia and depression you can see how medical professionals are having a hard time discerning which causes which to occur. There have been studies that support that insomnia causes depression and other studies supporting that depression causes insomnia. What you can conclude however is that they are most certainly directly related to one another. If you happen to be an insomniac the lack of rest giving your body what it needs to be ready for the next day could most certainly lead to bouts of depression.

Since both can make the other condition worse, it is always best to never self diagnose yourself but instead speak with your doctor or therapist about your issues so that you can be properly treated for one condition or both.

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