The following is a summary of “Too little or too much: nonlinear relationship between sleep duration and daily affective well-being in depressed adults,” published in the April 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Lee et al.

Individuals with depression often experience more intense reactions to external events and struggle with sleep. However, it’s unclear how nightly sleep affects their daily mood compared to someone who is not depressed.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study exploring how naturally occurring sleep duration influences negative and positive effects in depressed versus non-depressed adults. 

They analyzed data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), part of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, involving 2,012 adults (average age 56.5; 57% female; 84% white). Participants completed eight-day diary interviews by phone, reporting daily experiences, including sleep duration and mood. Depression status was determined using diagnostic assessments DSM-III. Multilevel regression models explored how nightly sleep duration relates to daily affect, considering nonlinear effects and differences between depressed and non-depressed adults.

The results showed that depressed adults had more pronounced changes in daily mood based on sleep duration than non-depressed adults. When depressed adults slept two or more hours less or more than usual, positive mood decreased, and negative mood increased significantly. Non-depressed adults’ daily mood remained relatively stable regardless of sleep hours.

Investigators concluded that sleep patterns impact the daily mood of individuals with depression, emphasizing the importance of proper sleep duration for better daily emotional well-being.

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-05747-7