NEW YORK: Staying up all night can be mentally and physically exhausting, but an interesting study says it can boost your mood for several days.
In a new study, American neurobiologists from Northwestern University induced mild and acute sleep deprivation in mice and examined their behavior and brain activity.
Not only was dopamine release increased during periods of acute sleep deprivation, but synaptic plasticity was also enhanced, literally rewiring the brain to maintain a cheerful mood for the next few days.
The new findings, published online in the journal Neuron, could help researchers better understand how mood states shift naturally.
It could also lead to a more complete understanding of how fast-acting antidepressants (such as ketamine) work and help researchers identify new, previously unknown antidepressant targets. There is sex.
“Chronic sleep deprivation is well-studied and its uniform negative effects are widely documented,” said Evgenia Kozorovitsky, a professor at the university.
“But short-term sleep deprivation, like when a student stays up all night before an exam, is less well understood.
“We found that sleep deprivation induces powerful antidepressant effects and rewires the brain. This means that our casual activities, such as sleepless nights, “This is an important reminder that we can fundamentally change our brains,” Kozolovitzky added.
In the study, the research team developed a new experiment to induce acute sleep deprivation in mice that do not have the genetic predisposition associated with human mood disorders.
The experimental setting should be gentle enough not to cause too much stress to the animal, but uncomfortable enough that the animal does not fall asleep.
After a sleepless night, the animals’ behavior changed to more aggressive, hyperactive, and hypersexual behavior compared to controls that experienced a typical night’s sleep.
The researchers used optical and genetically encoded tools to measure the activity of dopamine neurons, which are responsible for the brain’s reward response. And they found that the animals were more active during short periods of sleep deprivation.
Researchers don’t fully understand why sleep deprivation causes these effects on the brain, but Kozolovitsky thinks evolution may be involved.
Kozorovitsky also warns people against staying up all night to lighten a gloomy mood.
“The effects of antidepressants are temporary and we know the importance of good sleep,” she says.
“I think it’s better to go to the gym or go for a walk. This new knowledge is more important in matching patients with the right antidepressant.”
