When I first came across this study showing that behavioral sleep therapy for insomnia may double your chances of recovering from depression, my first reaction was, “DUHHHH? It’s like saying that water is found to cure dehydration. By definition, most people with depression have a variety of sleep problems. We know that having insomnia can predict the onset of depression much later in life. With all that we know about the cognitive and behavioral effects of poor sleep, it’s not surprising that neurophysiological and biochemical and even structural changes can happen in the brain due to lack of quality sleep.
I’ve been accused of overgeneralizing poor sleep as a cause of too many health conditions, but I’m only repeating studies that already published.
Now if only we can figure out what causes insomnia. Stay tuned for my next post in which I will revisit my theory about insomnia and anxiety.