Pulling an all-nighter once in a while might not be so bad for you, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that one night of total sleep deprivation enhanced certain brain pathways which correlated with better mood in some healthy and depressed individuals.

For most people, a lack of sleep leaves us crabby and unable to function properly the next day. However, for many patients with depressive disorder, sleep deprivation induces rapid and effective mood improvement.

The amygdala is a pivotal brain region affected by depression. This study showed that going without sleep for one night enhanced amygdala connectivity to the anterior cingulate cortex in line with a mood boost for some people.

The research team mapped brain region activity to see why some people receive a healthy boost from what’s considered negative for most.

‘Our findings might have implications for the development of fast and unique antidepressant interventions,’ said the researchers who worked on the study.

In a sleep deprivation experiment conducted on 38 healthy individuals and 30 patients with major depressive disorder, along with 16 people who were allowed uninterrupted sleep, researchers explored the effects of total sleep deprivation (TSD) on mood and functional connectivity networks.

The experiments were performed for five consecutive days and participants underwent three MRI scanning sessions.

Participants underwent three resting-state fMRI scans over the five days. The first was after a normal night’s sleep on the morning of day two as the baseline. In the groups that were totally deprived of sleep, participants had their second brain scan on the morning of day three after no sleep.

Then participants were allowed two nights of restful sleep and had their final brain scans on the morning of day five. All participants completed a standard psychological test evaluating mood swings, every two hours during days two to five.

As expected, most participants showed a worsening mood immediately after missing a night’s sleep. Thirteen out of 30 (43%) depressed participants experienced mood improvement, and the remaining 17 participants saw their moods worsen or have no change after one night of sleep deprivation.

After one night of restful sleep, 20 major depressive disorder participants experienced mood improvement, and the remaining participants experienced mood worsening or no change.

The amygdala is the part of the brain with the core of fight or flight response, processing fearful or threatening stimuli and signalling other parts of the brain for a response action.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) brain region is involved with both the ’emotional’ limbic system and the ‘cognitive’ prefrontal cortex. Among other things, it plays a significant role in the ability to control and manage emotional states or affect regulation.

The findings suggest that amygdala–ACC network connectivity may reflect the resilience to mood disruption after sleep loss and thus may be a potential target for antidepressant interventions.

Sleep well

For more features and advice on how to sleep well, visit our sleep hub

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According to the researchers, one potential explanation for the individual differences in the effects of sleep deprivation might be in the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep duration.

Major depression has previously been associated with abnormalities in REM sleep. The absence of REM sleep with sleep deprivation is suspected to give some participants a break to improve control of the amygdala, resulting in an antidepressant effect.

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