Background: Going without sleep for long periods of time can produce a range of experiences, including perceptual distortions and hallucinations. Many questions, however, remain unanswered regarding the types of symptoms which are most reliably elicited, the time of symptom onset, and whether symptoms worsen over time toward psychotic decompensation. Since sleep deprivation exceeding 48 h is considered unethical today, an examination of historical studies with extreme sleep-loss duration is needed to obtain information about what happens during prolonged sleep loss.Methods: A systematic-review approach was used to identify experimental and observational studies of sleep deprivation in healthy people which describe the effects of prolonged sleep loss on psychopathological symptoms, without any date restriction.Results: A total of 476 articles were identified. Of these, 21 were eligible for inclusion. Duration of sleep loss ranged between 24 h and 11 nights (total 760 participants; average 72–92 h without sleep). All studies except one reported perceptual changes, including visual distortions (i.e., metamorphopsias), illusions, somatosensory changes and, in some cases, frank hallucinations. The visual modality was the most consistently affected (in 90% of the studies), followed by the somatosensory (52%) and auditory (33%) modalities. Symptoms rapidly developed after one night without sleep, progressing in an almost fixed time-dependent way. Perceptual distortions, anxiety, irritability, depersonalization, and temporal disorientation started within 24–48 h of sleep loss, followed by complex hallucinations and disordered thinking after 48–90 h, and delusions after 72 h, after which time the clinical picture resembled that of acute psychosis or toxic delirium. By the third day without sleep, hallucinations in all three sensory modalities were reported. A period of normal sleep served to resolve psychotic symptoms in many—although not all—cases.Conclusions: Psychotic symptoms develop with increasing time awake, from simple visual/somatosensory misperceptions to hallucinations and delusions, ending in a condition resembling acute psychosis. These experiences are likely to resolve after a period of sleep, although more information is required to identify factors which can contribute to the prevention of persistent symptoms.
Symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations and delusions can be intrusive and unwanted and often remain treatment-resistant. Due to recent progress in basic and clinical sciences, novel approaches such as sleep-based interventions are increasingly becoming offered to address the physical and mental health issues of people with severe mental illness. While the primary outcome is to improve sleep, studies have demonstrated that interventions that target symptoms of insomnia can also produce improvements in the severity of psychotic symptoms, quality of life, and functional outcomes. This study presents qualitative data on the attitudes and preferences of people with schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorders to three different types of therapies for insomnia (standard pharmacological, melatonin-based, and cognitive and/or behavior therapy). Interviews included discussions regarding the perceived advantages and limitations of different therapies, enablers to taking up the preferred option, as well as personal strategies that have helped respondents with sleep problems in the past. Results showed that, when given the choice, these individuals prefer psychological and behavioral-type therapy to other sleep interventions because of its potential to support and empower them in taking responsibility for their own recovery. Pharmacological therapies, by contrast, are viewed as useful in managing acute sleep problems, but only as a short-term solution. Overall, the findings underscore the need for patients’ active engagement when making decisions about treatment options.
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