Treating sleep-breathing problem may ease blues

An important reminder to psychotherapists that differential diagnoses need to be considered, especially asking the client about possible sleep concerns or other medical issues that may actually be causing the person’s depressive symptoms…

New research suggests that symptoms of depression are fairly common among people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, an ailment in which their airways become blocked and they frequently stop breathing for brief periods while they sleep.

However, treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which delivers pressurized air via a facemask to keep airways open while they sleep, may improve these depressive symptoms.

“I think clinicians need to recognize that patients … with symptoms suggestive of depression may actually have sleep apnea,” Dr. Daniel J. Schwartz, from The Tampa Sleep Center at University Community Hospital in Florida, told Reuters Health.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 14 Sep 2005
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