How Form 944 Pr Adjustments 2011-2024

Do depressed people need to sleep more? That's what I'm gonna be talking about today. I'm Dr. Tracy Marx, a psychiatrist, and this channel is about mental health education and self-improvement. If you don't want to miss an episode, click Subscribe and the notification bell. Today's topic is based on a viewer question from Judith. She says, "Hi Dr. Marx, how much extra rest does someone with depression need to get better compared to someone who's completely healthy? Is any extra rest actually needed to get better? If so, how do we know how much is too much and vice versa?" Thanks for your question, Judith. In actuality, people who are depressed do not need extra rest. Depression can make you feel more tired and sleepy, giving you the feeling that you need more sleep because you're not well. But sleeping 10 hours or more is actually considered hypersomnia or too much sleep, and it doesn't help you get any better. It's actually a symptom of your depression. In fact, sleep deprivation is a treatment for depression and it's called wake therapy. We've known for decades that if you keep a depressed person awake for 24 hours, their symptoms resolve. But the problem is, the improvement doesn't last very long. It may last a day or two, or the symptoms can return as soon as you get sleep. So the next level of research looked at how to get the improvement to last, and here's what they came up with. Researchers found that you can prolong the antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation to last weeks or even months by combining the staying awake part with bright light therapy. Why does this happen? Your circadian rhythm is responsible for controlling certain body processes like your body temperature, your sleep-wake cycle, your...