Depression and Insomnia

For years, doctors have known that depression and sleep disorders are linked. Up to 80 percent of people with depression also struggle with insomnia, the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep. About 15 percent of people with depression suffer from hypersomnia, or chronic oversleeping.

When treating people with both these disorders, doctors have found that treating insomnia issues often helps patients overcome depression more quickly. There's a misconception that people who are depressed sleep all the time or have trouble getting out of bed.

Yet, in reality this isn't often the case. Studies show that this particular reaction only occurs in about 15% of depressed patients. The majority of people suffering from depression don't sleep well - and depression and insomnia are much more likely to be found together. 

Treating Depression and Insomnia

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often used to treat depression. These can be beneficial in treating people who are suffering from both depression and sleeplessness, as they produce both sedating and mood-lifting effects. 

SSRI's include the medications Fluox (Fluoxetine), Celexa (Citaopram) and Zoloft (Sertraline). Sometimes a hypnotic sleep medication such as Zolpidem (Zolbien) or Zimovane (Zopiclone) may also prescribed by your doctor. 

Although medication may seem like an effective course of treatment, it only provides short-term results. In order to obtain a permanent relief from this illness, it is highly important to benefit from a combination of psychotherapy (including cognitive-behavioral therapy) and/or pharmacological (drug) treatment. Each of these therapies can be used to treat both depression and insomnia but psychologists must carefully identify the exact cause of these symptoms prior to suggest a particular course of treatment. However, depression and insomnia is not exactly the most pleasant combination that you should learn how to wive with. 

Insomnia and depression are bad enough on their own, but when combined they can wreak serious havoc on your physical and mental health. If you’re experiencing depression-related insomnia, take your sleeplessness seriously and get treatment for it. You might be surprised how much better it makes you feel.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) for Depression

SSRIs are the most widely prescribed type of antidepressants. They're usually preferred over other antidepressants, as they cause fewer side effects. An overdose is also less likely to be serious. Fluoxetine is probably the best known SSRI (sold under the brand name Prozac). Other SSRIs include Citalopram (Celexa), Cipralex (Escitalopram) and Zoloft (Sertraline).

How SSRIs Work

Medicines known as reuptake inhibitors increase the amount of particular neurotransmitters in the brain by preventing unused neurotransmitters from moving back into the pre-synaptic neuron. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors - as they are also known - increase the amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Serotonin has many roles in the body, including the regulation of your appetite, your sleeping patterns, your body temperature and your memory. It also plays a primary role in regulating your mood, which is the main reason why supplemental serotonin, the most common form of antidepressant, is prescribed for people experiencing anxiety or depression. People of both the male and female gender with anxiety disorders exhibit lower levels of serotonin than normal.

How effective are SSRI antidepressants?

About 5-7 in 10 people with moderate or severe depression have an improvement in symptoms within a few weeks of starting treatment with an antidepressant. However, up to 3 in 10 people improve with dummy tablets (placebos), as some people would have improved in this time naturally. So, if you have depression, you are roughly twice as likely to improve with an antidepressant compared with taking no treatment. But, they do not work in everybody. As a rule, the more severe the depression, the greater the chance that an antidepressant will work well.

People who should take extra care with SSRIs
Make sure you tell your doctor if you have, or have had in the past, any of the following conditions (you might need to take extra precautions, or another medicine might be more suitable):
- epilepsy or reduced seizure threshold
- bipolar disorder
- stomach bleeding
- liver problems
Get advice about the risks of taking antidepressants, directly from your doctor or from a specialist information line, if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or thinking about becoming pregnant.