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Brain regions associated with short-term memory, self and negative emotions are strongly connected in depressed people and may lead to bad sleep quality. Researchers analysed data from 10,000 people to examine mechanisms underlying relation between depression and poor sleep, 75% of depression sufferers report poor sleep quality.
Professor Jianfeng Feng and Professor Edmund Rolls from Warwick’s Department of Computer Science, with Dr. Wei Cheng from Fudan University, discover functional connectivity between the areas of the brain associated with short-term memory, self, and negative emotions-causing sufferers to dwell on bad thoughts and leading to a poor quality of sleep.
Analysing data from 10,000 people, the researchers examined the neural mechanisms underlying the relation between depression and quality of sleep. In the brains of those living with depressive problems, they discovered a strong connection between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (associated with short-term memory), the precuneus (associated with the self) and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (associated with negative emotion).
The analysis showed that these functional connectivities underlie the relation between depressive problems and sleep quality. The researchers conclude that increased functional connectivity between these brain regions provides a neural basis for how depression is related to poor sleep quality.
Major depressive disorder is also ranked by the World Health Organization as the leading cause of years-of-life lived with disability. Depression and sleep problems often go hand-in-hand. About 75% of depressed patients report significant levels of sleep disturbance, such as difficulty of falling asleep and short duration of sleep (insomnia). People with insomnia also have a higher risk of developing depression and anxiety.