Depression: moody night owls

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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People who tend to be active at night are more likely to develop depression. Why is that and how can you protect yourself?

Early risers are less likely to develop depression than people who tend to be active at night. Earlier observational studies have shown this. According to this, night owls suffer twice as often from depression as early risers, regardless of how long they sleep in total.

However, the question of what is a hen and what is an egg remained unclear. For example, depression with the typically associated drive blockage could make it difficult to get up in the morning.

Researchers led by Celine Vetter from the University of Boulder / Colorado have now got to the bottom of this question with the help of genetic fingerprints. Whether someone is an early bird or a night owl is primarily genetic. Corresponding data is provided by the British biobank study, which contains blood samples from more than 500,000 people.

Genes influence the chronotype

“We have known for some time that there is a relationship between sleep time and mood. But a question we often hear from clinicians is: How much earlier do we have to wake people up to see any benefit? ”Said Vetter.

The participants were asked about their sleeping habits and the answers were compared with their genetic profile. Scientists refer to such a procedure as Mendelian randomization. The connection between genes and sleep rhythm was verified using sensors that some of the test subjects temporarily wore on their wrists. This could be used to record the duration and times of sleep.

In addition, the researchers evaluated genetic data that the US company "23andMe" collected from more than 300,000 customers. The company offers detailed genome analyzes that can be used to estimate the risk of various diseases. Here, too, the people tested gave information about their lifestyle and sleeping habits. In fact, the researchers came across the same genes that influence the chronotype.

Sleeping an hour earlier lowers the risk of depression by 23 percent

The evaluations confirm that genetically shaped morning people are actually less likely to develop depression. Every hour by which the focus of the night's rest was earlier, the risk of illness decreased by 23 percent.

One possible explanation would be that morning people get more daylight - and are therefore protected from depression. A corresponding connection between light and the tendency to depression is also known from people who suffer from winter depression.

It is doubtful, however, whether night owls who impose an earlier sleep pattern actually become less depressed. Earlier studies tend to suggest that living against the internal clock is unhealthy and, for example, promotes obesity.

Depression can be prevented

But there are other ways to prevent depression. An overall healthier lifestyle with a healthy diet, targeted relaxation and sufficient exercise also protects the psyche from illnesses. Exercise, for example, helps reduce stress hormones.

Other antidepressant measures come from psychology: For example, you can focus your own perception on positive aspects. For example, by consistently jotting down three positive moments of the day every day. Whether this actually protects against depression has not yet been scientifically investigated. But given the fact that it has been shown to increase life satisfaction, it's well worth a try.

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