Tel-Aviv University Tel Aviv.
Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2003;7(1):9-16. doi: 10.1080/13651500310001013.
The question as to whether the beneficial effect of sleep deprivation in depression is related to the increased wakefulness or to the sleep suppression by itself, is made moot by the search activity concept. According to this concept, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is functionally deficient in depression and increases feelings of helplessness and hopelessness instead of restoring mood and search activity. Thus, REM sleep deprivation, either selective or not, is beneficial by breaking a vicious circle: depression in wakefulness…giving up (helplessness) in dream scenario…increased depression in the subsequent wakefulness. In addition, sleep deprivation is an important challenge for the depressed patient. The ability to confront this challenge and maintain wakefulness has a positive outcome on depression, especially when wakefulness is accompanied by active behavior.
至于睡眠剥夺对抑郁症的有益作用是与增加觉醒相关，还是与睡眠本身的抑制相关，这一问题可以用搜索活动的概念来解释。根据这一概念，快速眼动 (REM) 睡眠在抑郁症中是功能不足的，它会增加无助感和绝望感，而不是恢复情绪和搜索活动。因此，快速眼动睡眠剥夺，无论是选择性的还是非选择性的，都是有益的，因为它打破了一个恶性循环：觉醒时的抑郁……在梦境场景中放弃（无助）……随后的觉醒时抑郁增加。此外，睡眠剥夺对抑郁患者来说是一个重要的挑战。患者能够应对这一挑战并保持清醒，这对抑郁症有积极的影响，尤其是当清醒伴随着积极的行为时。
