“Early Birds” May Have Extra Buffers for Depression-Consumer Health News

Thursday, June 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) –Can I reduce my risk of depression just by waking up an hour early every day?

Yes, a new study that found that the day started early claims to be associated with a 23% lower risk of developing mood disorders.

A study of more than 840,000 people revealed a “link between early sleep patterns and a reduced risk of major depressive disorder,” said study author Iyas Daghlas.

The findings suggest that “hence, accelerating sleep and wake-up time may be an intervention to reduce and potentially treat depression and needs further investigation in clinical trials. “It is,” said Douglas.

Currently a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Broad Institute and Harvard University, Douglas recently graduated from Harvard Medical School with a focus on sleep, neurology, and heart health interactions.He and his colleagues share recent findings JAMA Psychiatry..

To investigate the potential link between sleep and depression risk, the team analyzed information collected by DNA testing firm 23andMe and data edited by UK Biobank, a UK biomedical database. did.

Approximately 10% of the 840,000 people in the data pool wore a sleep tracker for a week, and approximately 250,000 responded to a sleep habits survey.

Overall, approximately one-third of the participants were defined as early rising, and just under one in ten were characterized as “night owls.” The average bedtime was fixed at 11 pm and the average wake-up time was fixed at 6 am (most people’s sleep patterns actually fell somewhere between early rising and late night).

This means that the average “midpoint of sleep” (the midpoint between waking up and going to bed) occurred around 3 am.

Examining their genetic background in the data pool revealed more than 340 variations of genes known to affect either the early rising or bedtime habits of a person.

Understand how common certain genetic mutations are and how they also affect the risk of depression, as genetic predisposition affects 12% to 42% of an individual’s arousal and sleep preferences. The team pointed out that it is important to do.

Ultimately, Dahlas and his team say that those who wake up later than those who stay up late or get up early may be able to reduce their risk of depression by 23% by moving their midpoint to sleep just an hour earlier. I found that.

Importantly, this finding was maintained as long as the total time spent sleeping was the same. In addition, the team said that for every hour of the shift to early rising hours, the risk of depression was found to decrease by an additional 23%, but those who already got up early benefited from the same sleep tactics. It is unknown if it will be possible.

More exposure to daytime light may play a role in boosting mood, as it may explain the relationship between wake-up time and depression. What is happening when most people are awake can mean that they are more easily adapted to social routines, so it is simply happening when most other people are awake. Just can help.

This was also sympathized by Adam Clause, who recently graduated from the Center for Human Sleep Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.

“It is generally considered that modern life is more difficult for the evening type because of the mismatch with the work schedule,” said Klaus. “The morning type is active during the day and active at night. Although it tends to be off-target, the night type is forced into this pattern by social demand, and this pattern does not match the body clock. “

However, according to Klaus, the problem is, “There’s not much you can do to change the chronotype. It’s certainly possible to shift a little, but the extreme evening type becomes an extreme morning type by changing that type. No. Doing this works against your own genetically determined biological rhythm. “

Dr. Victor Fornari, Deputy Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York, said the study found that changing one’s chronotype directly reduced the risk of depression. Warned not to provide evidence.

“[Although] This large study evaluated sleep patterns and observed a significantly lower incidence of depression in people who get up early and are at risk for depression … no causal relationship was found, “Fornari said. Emphasized.

Nonetheless, he said, “the findings benefit further research to understand the relationship between depression and its potential role in the prevention and treatment of depression, especially in those who are genetically at risk for depression.” I agreed.

For more information

For sleep chronotypes, Sleep foundation..

Source: Iyas Daghlas, Researcher at Broad Institute and Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Adam Krause, Researcher, Computational Psychiatry, Neuroimaging and Sleep Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. Victor Fornari, MD, Deputy Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, NY; JAMA Psychiatry, May 26, 2021, online