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Depression in teens could be reduced, say researchers, by something simple, yet often lacking: a good night's sleep.

Teenagers should be getting about nine hours of sleep per night, according to experts, but few do. In fact, the average teen only gets about seven hours of sleep per night. While in the past it was believed that poor sleep was simply a byproduct of depression, thinking on this matter is changing. Chronic sleep deprivation may actually be a cause of depression, experts say.

Allison Harvey, a clinical psychologist at UC Berkeley and her team at the university's Sleep and Psychological Disorders Laboratory have plans to research this problem by recruiting 60 middle and high school students to discover if more sleep may indeed be a valid way to prevent or treat teen depression.

The 60 teens who participate in the 12-week study will self-report their sleep habits and participate in 12 one-hour, weekly sessions of cognitive behavior therapy focusing upon sleep and mood patterns.

If results are promising, says Harvey, a larger follow up study will be conducted to confirm the results.

If you live in the Berkeley area, have a middle school or high school aged child who is experiencing depression symptoms and are interested in having them participate in the project you can get more information by calling (510) 643-3797 or emailing teensleepucb@gmail.com.

Related Articles:

• How to Beat Insomnia
• Why Do I Need So Much Sleep?
• Study Shows Adequate Sleep May Ward Off Teen Depression

Researchers to Investigate Whether More Sleep Can Help Depressed Teens originally appeared on About.com Depression on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 03:16:42.

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On Saturday, November 21, 2009, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) will be sponsoring its 11th annual National Survivors of Suicide Day. This event, designed to reach out to those who have lost a loved one to suicide, offers participants a chance to connect with other survivors for support and healing.

Conferences will be offered in cities nationwide, with those conferences being linked by a live national broadcast by satellite/webcast from 1-2:30 p.m. EST. The conference will be broadcast live on the AFSP website at the same time, followed by an online chat. Many of the conference sites will also hold panel discussions, workshops and other activities both for survivors and for professionals.

• List of Conference Sites
• Register for the Webcast
• Learn More

Related Articles:

• Resources for Suicide Survivors
• Suicide Prevention
• Suicide Hotlines

National Survivors of Suicide Day originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 00:43:59.

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Women are at somewhat greater risk of suffering from depression following a stroke than are men, according to a new review of the existing medical literature.

Brittany Poynter and colleagues from the University of Toronto examined 56 studies related to stroke and depression, consisting of more than 75,000 people, 12,000 of which were women. The time between the stroke and the onset of depression in these people ranged from between under two weeks to 15 years.

In women, rates of depression after stroke ranged from about 6% to 78%, while in men rates ranged from 4.7% to 65%.

This finding is significant, according to Poynter, because depression after a stroke is associated with greater disability, reduced quality of life and an increased risk of death.

The authors say these higher rates of depression in women might occur because there are higher rates of depression in women in general, not just in those with stroke. They might also occur because women have less access to care.

Regarding treatment, Poynter says that "A multimodal approach may be the most effective," with treatments like exercise, physical rehabilitation and support groups being utilized in addition to the standard treatments of medication and counseling.

Poynter also suggests that stroke patients should be routinely screened for depression, rather than taking a wait-and-see approach.

The review appears in the November issue of the journal Psychosomatics.

Women More Likely to Be Depressed After Stroke originally appeared on About.com Depression on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 03:13:12.

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In a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), respondents reported that they do not believe the know much about depression. They are, however, very aware of the risks of not getting treated.

The survey included responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults with depression and adults living with the condition. It was conducted online between September 29 and October 7, 2009 and included 1,015 people who did not know anyone with depression, 263 caregivers and 513 with depression.

Some of the survey's other findings:

• Seventy-one percent of the survey takers believe they know some symptoms of depression, while 39% reported that they did not know many or any at all.
• Fifty percent of caretakers admitting to having had depression themselves, but only 25% were actually seeking treatment.
• Nearly 60% of people with depression reported that they depend upon their primary care physician for treatment rather than seeing a mental health professional.
• Among the reasons that people reported discontinuing treatment were: cost, a desire to "make it on my own", a belief that the treatment was not helping and medication side-effects.

The complete survey results can be found at: http://www.nami.org/depression.

Americans Don't Believe They Know Much About Depression, Says Survey originally appeared on About.com Depression on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 02:46:18.

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According to Ohio State researchers, pregnant women who are depressed may be more prone to severe flu symptoms if they catch the seasonal flu.

The researchers based their conclusions upon 22 pregnant women who had received a seasonal flu shot. Those with significant depression symptoms had a stronger inflammatory response to the flu shot than those who were not depressed. These findings suggest, say the researchers, that a depressed pregnant woman's immune system behaves differently, possibly causing them to have more serious symptoms if they do contract the flu.

"Inflammatory responses to vaccination do no harm, are mild, and typically go away within a few days. But an extended inflammatory response to vaccination, such as the one seen in women with the most depressive symptoms, isn't expected, and it serves as a way to estimate how somebody might respond to an actual infection or illness," said lead author Lisa Christian in a university press release.

The researchers suggest that, based upon these results, it would be wise for pregnant depressed women to get seasonal flu shots in order to avoid having a severe reaction if they do contract the flu.

Public health agencies advise that pregnant women get seasonal flu shots, but only 12-13% actually do, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It will be interesting to see how that might change this year, in light of CDC recommendations that pregnant women receive seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccinations," said Christian.

The study was published online in advance of publication in the November issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Depressed and Pregnant? You May Need a Flu Shot originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 05:08:44.

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There are many products on the market that claim to help Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but not all meet the recommended requirements. These are the requirements recommended by the Center for Environmental Therapeutics (CET) for effective light box therapy. Make sure that any unit you purchase meets these specifications.

• Light Box Requirements

Related Articles:

• Feeling SAD As the Days Grow Shorter?
• SAD Symptoms
• The Best Treatment for SAD
• Alternatives to Bright Light Therapy for SAD
• Light Therapy for Disorders Other Than SAD

Before You Buy a Light Box originally appeared on About.com Depression on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 00:30:48.

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Are you feeling overwhelmed and are considering suicide, but you're not sure whom you can call on for help? There are numerous agencies and organizations out there who want to help you. In the U.S., you can make a toll free call to either 1-800-784-2433 or 1-800-273-8255 for immediate assistance. Canadian crisis resources can be found through the Centre for Suicide Prevention. To locate crisis assistance in other countries, please consult The Befrienders Worldwide for listings. To learn more about your options for assistance during times of crisis, click the blue link at the top of this post.

In Crisis? originally appeared on About.com Depression on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 00:00:54.

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Women with a history of depression who used psychiatric medications had triple the risk of giving birth to a premature baby, according to a study in the September/October issue of Women's Health Issues.

Amelia Gavin and her team at the University of Washington, University of Michigan and Michigan State University, found that a combination of medication use and depression - either before or during pregnancy - were strongly associated with delivery before the 35th week of pregnancy.

The researchers also found that, without medication use, elevated levels of depression symptoms at midpregnancy and history of depression did not pose the same increased risk of preterm delivery.

At this point it is not clear, however, whether the medications are the direct cause of preterm delivery or whether medication use is simply an indicator of the severity of the mother's depression, which in itself could be a factor in pre-term delivery, said co-author Kristine Siefert.

According to lead author Amelia Gavin, the findings highlight a need for carefully planned studies to sort out the true associations between depression, psychiatric medication and preterm delivery.

"Women with depression face difficult decisions regarding the benefits and risks of using psychotropic medications in pregnancy," said Gavin. "Therefore, a focus on disentangling medication effects and depression effects on mother and offspring health should be a major clinical priority."

Psych Meds May Increase Risk of Premature Delivery originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 05:19:16.

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An analysis of national data on 2,130 mothers conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine found that working mothers were less likely to receive adequate treatment for their depression.

A possible reason suggested for why these women do not receive the treatment they need is that they work long hours, making it difficult for them to find the time to seek help.

It was also suggested by the report that, because of women's difficulties in finding time to seek help, the workplace would be a useful location to provide depression intervention. "Services like employee-assistance programs can help these mothers get screened and treated, even if they are unable to visit a provider or a mental health professional in the health-care setting," said study co-author Kristin Litzelman. "Since healthy employees are productive employees, it's often a win-win for the employers to offer benefits that support employee mental health."

The researchers noted that maternal depression has a strong impact on the well-being of the children cared for by the depressed mother, so workplace interventions could improve the family's health as well.

The researchers also found that black, Hispanic and other minority women were less likely to receive adequate treatment. "Health-care providers need to understand the racial, ethnic and educational disparities that affect treatment of mothers with depression," wrote the authors, "in order to intervene and help these patients get the care they need."

In addition, the authors reported that mothers with health insurance were three times more likely to receive adequate treatment than those without insurance. "Health insurance facilitates access to adequate treatment for maternal depression. Expanding health insurance coverage to mothers with depression is a critical step in helping them to get the care they need," said study author Dr. Whitney P. Witt, an assistant professor of population health sciences, in a press release from the university.

The study will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research.

Working Moms Less Likely to Receive Depression Treatment originally appeared on About.com Depression on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 05:53:56.

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According to background information provided in a new paper by Northwestern University researchers, over half of antidepressants fail to provide relief to depression sufferers. Their research seems to indicate it may be because what we believe about what triggers depression is entirely wrong.

Eva Redei and her team used rats which were genetically engineered to become severely depressed. They isolated specific genes in this group of rats and compared them with four genetically different groups of rats which had been exposed to chronic stress for two weeks. When they studied gene changes that increased or decreased in particular brain regions, they found that the genetically different rats that had been exposed to stress did not have any significant overlap in their genetic changes with the rats that had been genetically altered to be depressed.

The implication of these results? Redei and her team concluded that stress does not play a role in triggering the genetic changes associated with depression; and, if stress does not play a role in depression then this means that antidepressants, which are generally tested on animals by stressing the animals and then observing how the antidepressant modifies their behavior, are actually treating stress, not depression.

Redei says that drug developers have been focusing on the effect (stress) rather than the cause of depression. "That's why it takes so long for them to work and why they aren't effective for so many people," explained Redei. They are not actually treating depression at all.

Why Antidepressants Don't Always Work originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 04:56:11.

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