Insomnia Inhibits Recovery From Depression

Preliminary results of a small study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have shown that curing insomnia with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) improves the effectiveness of antidepressants, thereby dramatically increasing an individual’s rate of recovery from depression. These findings—if supported by other studies—may impact the standard of treatment for depression, experts say. CBT-I, which is currently not widely available, is a nonpharmacologic treatment that uses talk therapy to help patients with insomnia, a condition that is very common among people with depression. Three other small, NIMH-funded studies on the use of CBT-I in patients with depression are currently under way and are expected to be published next year. Researchers from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, examined 66 individuals with insomnia and depression for their study. Participants engaged in four talk therapy sessions over eight weeks. They were asked to follow instructions such as getting up at the same time each day; refraining from eating, reading, or watching television in bed; and avoiding daytime naps. Results demonstrated that CBT-I significantly improves the effectiveness of antidepressants when it cures insomnia. In fact, 87% of patients whose insomnia resolved during the treatment sessions also experienced a resolution of their depression symptoms after taking either an antidepressant or placebo for eight weeks. This is almost twice the rate of those whose insomnia was not cured. These findings, which support the findings of previous research from Stanford University, were presented at the recent Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 47th annual convention in Nashville, TN. -Meredith Edwards White