- Compared to those who slept seven hours a night on average, older adults who slept an average of five hours or less were 2.5 times more likely to develop symptoms of depression later in life. People who were genetically predisposed to short sleep duration were 14 percent more likely to develop symptoms of depression several years later.
- Sleeping too much was also a problem. Older adults who reported 9 or more hours of sleep were 1.5 times more likely to develop symptoms of depression later in life than those who averaged 7 hours of sleep.
- Depression was also more likely to reduce sleep quality.Approximately people with symptoms of depression 33% more likely to get less than 5 hours of sleep per night.
The study, based on data from the British Longitudinal Study of Aging, said it found an association, not causation, between reduced sleep duration and symptoms of depression. odessa hamilton, lead author of the study and a PhD researcher in biobehavioral epidemiology and precision medicine at University College London. The study was published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
Hamilton said sleeping too much or too little at night is considered a sign of depression.Several the study show That depression is It is often associated with sleep problems.
But more recently, researchers have begun to consider whether sleep deprivation may be a cause of depression and other mental health problems.
Hamilton said researchers want to study genetic data to “figure out” what happens first.
“The more we know about our individual genetic characteristics, the more likely we are to be able to take extensive preventive measures against disease,” she says.
researchers identified gene related to short sleep And thereby the individual will not suffer from the effects of sleep deprivation. But there are no hard numbers on how many people around the world have these genes, the researchers said.
Based on genome-wide association studies, Hamilton said polygenic scores were used to identify individuals with a genetic predisposition to short sleep duration.
The study focused only on participants of European descent, which has limitations, Hamilton said. These results may not be generalizable to people of other races or ethnicities.
Potential health risks associated with sleep deprivation have been reported. A study of around 8,000 British civil servants published last year found that getting less than five hours of sleep was associated with an increased risk of heart disease, depression, cancer and diabetes.
People who get less than the optimal amount of sleep each night may feel depressed because the lack of rest interferes with their ability to regulate their emotions. the study is shown. Areas of the brain involved in emotional processing can be affected by long-term sleep deprivation.
Good sleep helps with memory, mood, and overall health. And research shows that when you’re sleep deprived, you become less forgiving.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Recommendations Adults are advised to get at least seven hours of sleep a night.
Older adults, with or without health problems, may have difficulty sleeping through the night. And once they wake up, it becomes difficult to go back to sleep. Sacchin Pandaa professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences;circadian code‘ is a book about the importance of maintaining circadian rhythms. Elderly people don’t have deep sleep, so they may be woken up by even the slightest thing.
Older people don’t necessarily need less sleep. In fact, Panda says, we don’t really “rebound” from a night of sleep deprivation.
“We may not feel as sleepy as teenagers do on the weekends, but we still need to make an effort to get enough sleep,” he said.
Panda said some people feel good even with less sleep and don’t feel tired or irritable throughout the day. And that may be at least partially due to genetics.
But no gene can do that. It causes someone to have trouble sleeping, he said. Healthy sleep habits also reduce the risk of diseases related to sleep deprivation, such as depression.
“When you’re given lemons, you have to make lemonade,” he said. “Good habits can reduce the negative effects of bad genes.”
What you can do to help you sleep
Although a genetic predisposition to getting less sleep each night should be “worth considering,” it is only one factor in determining whether a person becomes sleep-deprived on a regular basis, Hamilton said. Sleep habits and the environment – what time a person falls asleep, what time they wake up, and the noise and light around them when they go to bed play a big role.
“These genetic scores explain a fairly modest level of variation in the likelihood of developing these outcomes,” Hamilton said. “The good news here is that sleep and depression can be considered largely modifiable risk factors.”
Hamilton’s advice is to catch up on sleep and avoid late-night procrastination, like having to watch one more episode or complete one more task before bed.
“We just have to find a reason,” she said. “The reason I don’t sleep is because I don’t think it’s important.”
