Association of Sleep Architecture and Physiology with Depressive Disorder and Antidepressants Treatment

Abstract

Sleep problems are frequently associated with the principal diagnostic criteria for many mental disorders. Alterations in the sleep of depressive patients are of high clinical significance because continuous sleep problems raise the chance of relapse, recurrence, or suicide, as well as the need for augmenting medications. Most antidepressants have been proven to influence the sleep architecture. While some classes of antidepressants improve sleep, others may cause sleep impairment. The successful treatment of depressive disorder also requires an understanding of the effects of antidepressants on sleep. This article briefly reviews the physiology of sleep and the typical alterations in the sleep architecture in depressive patients and updates the different effects of the majority of antidepressants including novel drugs in clinical practice on sleep. The summary of the updated scientific findings of the relationship between depression and sleep disturbances could be clinically beneficial in choosing the best medication for depressive patients with concurrent sleep disorders.

Migraine and Sleep—An Unexplained Association?

“…Phasic REM sleep contains bursts of rapid eye movements, respiratory variability, and brief electromyography activity (occasionally seen as muscle twitches). More limited motor activity occurs during tonic REM sleep, with few eye movements [ 6 , 8 ].…”

“…Behavioral changes during sleep are accompanied by a reorganization of brain activity. Sleep is one of the most important physiological processes and is considered to be the rest and convalescence phase essential in preparing the body for subsequent wakefulness [ 6 , 7 ]. Sleep also supports cognitive functions, mood, and memory, and affects the proper functioning of the endocrine and immune systems [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Actigraphy monitoring in anxiety disorders: A mini-review of the literature

“…We were unable to obtain detailed data on the studies that pooled depressive and anxiety disorders. Furthermore, only two of the selected studies ( 20 , 21 ) took into account the potential interaction of benzodiazepine and/or antidepressant medication in the relationship between sleep and anxiety, despite their wide prescription in anxiety disorders (and particularly among anxious patients presenting sleep disorders) and the well-documented effects of these drugs on sleep architecture ( 35 , 36 ).…”

The relationship between sleep disturbance and cognitive impairment in mood disorders: A systematic review

“…Mood disorders are associated with several sleep architecture abnormalities, particularly altered distribution of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in MDD (Hutka et al, 2021) and BD (Eidelman et al, 2010). Components of sleep architecture have been linked to aspects of cognitive impairment in healthy individuals.…”