How Poor REM Sleep Raises Risk for Depression, Anxiety: Study

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Poor rapid eye movement (REM) when sleeping has been linked to increased depression and anxiety. People who have disrupted REM could also suffer from stress and insomnia more.

The research, which was published in the PNAS journal and headed by Rick Wassing of the Department of Sleep and Cognition in the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, suggested that those who encounter restless REM have little ability to handle themselves when distressed. Hence, they tend to develop chronic depression, anxiety and other sleep disorders, Health Day reported.

The research supports previous studies that links REM to the regulation of one's emotions. It suggested that, when people are in the REM phase of sleeping, hormones like dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline turn off and become inactive. With the body less stimulated, it can then correctly process and resolve memories that could have an emotional impact.

On the other hand, people with disturbed REM continue to be aroused and stimulated even when their body is supposed to be resting. This, then, causes potential emotional distress. Wassing suggested that such an occurrence can turn into a bad cycle. It can lead to the development of sleep disorders and behavioral problems.

The experts conducted their study in two parts. The first phase involved a survey among 1,200 respondents who did a self-report of their insomnia and other sleep problems.

The second phase was a clinical trial that involved 19 women and 13 men with sleep problems ranging from non-existent to insomnia. Experts monitored the participants for two nights using tools that measured brain waves. After monitoring, the participants were asked to answer another set of survey questions.

After the monitoring, Wassing and his team then compared the results and data, and saw that participants who expressed having trouble getting a good night sleep had REM sleep phase disturbed. The more distressed the participants were, the more it tied to their troubled REM phase.

"The possible solution would be to stabilize REM sleep," said Wassing. However, further research has to be done to determine its effects.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stoke cited that sleep activity occurs in five phases in one cycle, with each cycle lasting about 110 minutes. REM occurs last in each cycle and only takes 20 percent of a person's total sleep time.

At this stage, the body's function changes, with the heart rate and blood pressure increasing, breathing becoming irregular, and eye movements turning rapid and active. The muscle and limbs also lose sensations at this phase. When REM is disturbed, the body biologically adjusts sleep times so that it's able to "catch up" on sleep. When it is unable to do so, that's when disorders develop.