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. 2023 Nov 1:340:412-419.
doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.07.116. Epub 2023 Aug 6.

Antidepressant effects of acute sleep deprivation are reduced in highly controlled environments

Jennifer R Goldschmied  1 , Elaine Boland  2 , Emma Palermo  3 , Holly Barilla  4 , David F Dinges  5 , John A Detre  6 , Mathias Basner  7 , Yvette I Sheline  8 , Hengyi Rao  9 , Philip Gehrman  10
Affiliations

Antidepressant effects of acute sleep deprivation are reduced in highly controlled environments

Jennifer R Goldschmied et al. J Affect Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Numerous studies summarized in a recent meta-analysis have shown sleep deprivation rapidly improves depressive symptoms in approximately 50 % of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD), however those studies were typically conducted in clinical settings. Here we investigated the effects of sleep deprivation utilizing a highly controlled experimental approach.

Methods: 36 antidepressant-free individuals with MDD and 10 healthy controls (HC) completed a 5 day/4-night protocol consisting of adaptation, baseline, total sleep deprivation (TSD), and recovery phases. Light was kept consistently dim (≤50 lx), meals were regulated, and activity was restricted. In-the-moment mood was assessed using a modified Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) at screening and each morning following the experimental nights.

Results: Day of study had a significant effect on mood in both groups. Post-hoc analyses revealed that significant effects were attributed to mood improvement in the MDD group following study initiation prior to beginning TSD, and in the HC group following recovery sleep, but were not due to mood improvement in the MDD group during TSD. No further improvement in mood occurred during 36 h of TSD.

Limitations: Strict eligibility requirements may limit generalizability. The requirement to be medication free may have biased toward a less severely depressed sample.

Conclusions: Results revealed that individuals with moderate MDD can experience a significant reduction in depressive symptoms upon entering a highly controlled laboratory environment. Environmental effects on mood can be substantial and need to be considered.

Keywords: Major depressive disorder; Mood; Sleep deprivation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest Dr. Philip Gehrman has received research support from Merck, Inc. and has been a paid consultant for Eight Sleep, Eisai Inc., Fisher Wallace Laboratories, and Idorsia. All other authors declare no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias this work.

Figures

Figure 1a.
Figure 1a.
Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression scores at each condition, with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 1b.
Figure 1b.
Self-report positive mood scores at each condition, with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 2a.
Figure 2a.
Minutes of Baseline Slow-wave Sleep and Mood Improvement from Screening to Baseline
Figure 2b.
Figure 2b.
Morningness Eveningness Questionnaire Score and Mood Improvement from Screening to Baseline
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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