How Pulling an all-nighter could be a temporary mood-booster
Pulling an all-nighter might leave you exhausted — but it could also be a temporary mood-booster. Researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois studied the effects of sleep deprivation in mice and published their findings in the journal Neuron earlier this month. They found that an “acute sleep loss period” raised levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that boosts feelings of pleasure in the brain. It also rewired the brain to elevate mood for several days after the period of sleep deprivation.
The findings could help researchers better understand how antidepressants elevate mood and identify targets for new medications, according to a press release from Northwestern University. During the study, researchers implemented “gentle” techniques to keep the mice from falling asleep. After staying up all night, the animals demonstrated more “aggressive, hyperactive and hypersexual” behavior compared to those that slept.
Most of the behavioral changes were gone a few hours later — yet the antidepressant effect continued for a few days after the sleep deprivation. Although there have been many studies done on the effects of chronic sleep loss, the impact of short-term sleep loss is less understood, according to study co-author Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy, an associate professor of neurobiology at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
“The idea that staying up all night can temporarily alleviate depression is intriguing,” New York-based clinical psychologist Dr. Shelby Harris told Fox News Digital. “There have been previous studies that have shown similar results, and there are some known mechanisms by which sleep deprivation could lead to improvements in mood.”
However, the sleep experts cautioned against staying up all night as a means of curbing depression. “This study was done in mice and we have to wait for human-related studies,” Dr. Mirela Loftus, medical director for Newport Healthcare in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital. In patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the lack of sleep could trigger a manic episode.
The true value of the study can aid in the development of new treatments for depression targeting the neurotransmitter dopamine and the medial prefrontal cortex. While there could be a biological benefit to being “intensely alert” after a period of no sleep, Kozorovitskiy pointed out that the antidepressant effect is only “transient.” “I would say you are better off hitting the gym or going for a nice walk,” she said in the release. “This new knowledge is more important when it comes to matching a person with the right antidepressant.”