Subjective Mood in Young Unmedicated Depressed Women under High and Low Sleep Pressure Conditions

Abstract

Diurnal mood variations are one of the core symptoms in depression, and total sleep deprivation (SD) can induce rapid, short-lasting clinical improvement in depressed patients. Here, we investigated if differential sleep pressure conditions impact on subjective mood levels in young women with major depressive disorder (MDD) without sleep disturbances, and in healthy controls. Eight healthy and eight MDD women underwent 40-h SD (high sleep pressure) and 40-h multiple NAP (low sleep pressure) protocols under constant routine conditions during which subjective mood was assessed every 30-min. MDD women rated overall significantly worse mood than controls, with minimal values for both groups during the biological night (ca. 4 a.m.), under high and low sleep pressure conditions. During SD, nighttime mood ratings in MDD women were lower than in controls and partially recovered during the second day of SD, but never attained control levels. The degree of this diurnal time-course in mood under SD correlated positively with sleep quality in MDD women. Our data indicate that MDD women without sleep disturbances did not exhibit a SD-induced antidepressant response, suggesting that the mood enhancement response to sleep deprivation might be related to the co-existence of sleep disturbances, which is an association that remains to be fully established.

Circadian misalignment increases mood vulnerability in simulated shift work

“…Well-being was defined as a composite score averaged over three items: “happy/sad”, “calm/stressed” (where calm = 0 and stressed = 100; scale was inverted for data analyses), and “energetic/physically exhausted” (where energetic = 0 and physically exhausted = 100; scale was inverted for data analyses). These VAS-derived emotional state measurements have been validated in previous laboratory studies 25 , 26 , 42 , and can be reliably used for sequential serial time measurements due to the absence of ceiling effects 26 , 42 . We did not use the PANAS or the POMS, which allow for the multidimensional assessment of mood (e.g., arousal and valence), because these affective scales cannot be used for sequential serial time measurements (single measurements are most typical when using these scales, for which they were originally designed).…”

“…We did not use the PANAS or the POMS, which allow for the multidimensional assessment of mood (e.g., arousal and valence), because these affective scales cannot be used for sequential serial time measurements (single measurements are most typical when using these scales, for which they were originally designed). Because mood and well-being have been shown to fluctuate with time-of-day 25 , 26 , 42 , we therefore opted for using the VAS which is well-validated for such serial time measurements. Sleep was recorded using polysomnography (Vitaport; TEMEC Instruments, The Netherlands)—in accordance with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommendations 43 .…”

Circadian misalignment: A biological basis for mood vulnerability in shift work

“…A potential mechanism underlying the association between shift work and worsened mood is the disruption of circadian rhythms. Mood variations over the day are under tight circadian control in healthy individuals and in patients with depression, indicating that the circadian system is an important biological component of mood regulation (Birchler‐Pedross et al., 2016; Boivin et al, 1997). Shift workers often experience a misalignment between the circadian system and behaviour/environmental cycles (Qian & Scheer, 2016), resulting in adverse health consequences.…”

“…This disrupted sleep–wake stability can cause long‐term circadian misalignment. Crucially, when individuals remain awake during the night instead of being habitually asleep—as typically occurs in night shift workers—mood levels are worsened (Birchler‐Pedross et al., 2016), which highlight the adverse effects of circadian misalignment (see Figure 1 for a conceptual scheme of circadian misalignment effects on mood). Furthermore, sleep loss per se can lead to low mood and disruption in emotional reactivity/regulation (Bower, Bylsma, Morris, & Rottenberg, 2010).…”

The effects of dynamic daylight-like light on the rhythm, cognition, and mood of irregular shift workers in closed environment

“…The cognitive performance was tested by continuous performance test (CPT) 5 , 6 . The mood status was assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) 29 , 46 . At last, the relationships between the performance of shift workers and the parameters of light sources were discussed.…”