Disrupted ‘brain clock’ is linked to depression in new study

[compsports]

A big fat sigh to another one of these BS articles:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/disrupted-brain-clock-is-linked-to-depression-in-new-study/2013/05/20/90802c24-be65-11e2-9b09-1638acc3942e_singlePage.html?tid=obnetwork

 

I was struck by this exert:

 

""The sleep-cycle shift held in patients who had a diagnosis of major depression but who had not taken antidepressants, the researchers found, suggesting that it’s the disease and not the treatment that causes the circadian rhythm problems.""

 

Many things wrong with this study. Sample size of 35 was quite small. Also, how do we know that it wasn't insomnia that caused the depression and the disruptions in the circadian rhythm problems? Criteria used so specify depression was not indicated.

 

And if antidepressants didn't prevent the insomnia, that is not saying much for the drugs.

 

Sadly, people will see the headline and totally get the wrong impression.

 

CS

[SaltedGingkoNuts]

Exactly.

 

Why would we even trust ANY studies anymore? Their 'favorable-to-Big-Pharm' outcomes are decided beforehand. So bogus.

 

As long as we drink the kool-aid, right?

 

Thanks for sharing. Knowledge is Power!

 

-Salted

[alexjuice]

It seems more likely to me that insomnia and depression would share a common cause than that insomnia would cause depression or vice versa.

 

I forget to an extent what depression is like. I was far more prone to anxiety adn neuroticism than depression, thouogh sometimes I did feel depressed. I think that depression is like anxiety in that it's very difficult for people not prone to it to really understand it.

 

In spite of 15 years on antidepressants, diagnosed with major depressive disorder, I don't think I have a good understanding of how bad a depression can feel. My anxiety problems, which got much worse on SSRIs, were very debiliating and in ways people just couldn't understand. I still find myself forgetful of the fact that many people took antidepressants to cope with depression and not anxiety or fibro or whatever... Defintely my w/d experience has featured insomnia/anxiety much more than actual depression. I get more exhausted than depressed. And when I do feel hopeless it doesn't actually feel that bad, it's a good relief from the panic of "I'll never get well!!!1!HELP"

[Altostrata]

EVERYTHING is related to depression -- because for the most part, depression is an extremely vague diagnosis.

 

For sure, good sleep contributes to feeling good all the way around.

[Finn]

I don't think it is far-fetched to say depression is related to trouble falling or staying asleep in some people. During one of my previous bad depressive episodes (one that I came out of stronger, without any drugs) when I was like 18, I would wake up in the middle of the night very restless, bored and unable to find rest. In general, antidepressants have messed with my sleep far worse than depression.

 

Sometimes, I read studies and contemplate who wasted money funding this nonsense...

[alexjuice]

I don't think it is far-fetched to say depression is related to trouble falling or staying asleep in some people. During one of my previous bad depressive episodes (one that I came out of stronger, without any drugs) when I was like 18, I would wake up in the middle of the night very restless, bored and unable to find rest. In general, antidepressants have messed with my sleep far worse than depression.

 

Sometimes, I read studies and contemplate who wasted money funding this nonsense...

 

I suppose the question would be why do people have trouble sleeping?

 

It's more coceivable to me that the cause of insomnia and the cause of depression are the same, whatever that cause is. Some propose inflammation, others infectious causes or both or some other mechanism. I've had first hand experience with toxic exposure causing insomnia so I'm open to that being a more common cause.

 

I do agree that antidepressants have had the most profoundly negative impact on sleep of anything I have experienced. Again I am not sure why this is, it could be related to some effect on some other mechanism as much as a direct effect of the antidepressants since there seems so great a diversity in responses to these drugs...

[Finn]

It's more coceivable to me that the cause of insomnia and the cause of depression are the same, whatever that cause is. Some propose inflammation, others infectious causes or both or some other mechanism

In the case I mentioned above, the underlying cause of the depression and insomnia was extreme emotional distress, caused by life stressors and trauma.

 

Depression certainly isn't the only reason I have trouble with sleep at times. I literally will wake up sometimes because my blood sugar is too low. I will have to eat something if I want to fall back to sleep. Hypoglycemia/ diabetes/ hormonal issues can contribute both sleep disturbances and depression.

[Meimeiquest]

When I had a major depression in my late 20's, I did the wake up early thing just like the cortisol wake up calls of withdrawal. That was as it was getting bad, it followed the sleep-so-much stage.

[TrishF]

Just  a note...I am a person who has never had to use an alarm clock or anything like that, have always been able to wake up exactly when I needed to naturally, until I was on the Pristiq, and then it was like my natural body clock just 'turned off'.  Since going off the Pristiq, it is working again.  Interesting to find this topic here.

[Narcissus]

 

 

Some propose inflammation, others infectious causes or both or some other mechanism.

 

Perhaps it isn't a mechanism at all.