Waking Up One Hour Earlier May Stave Off Depression

Depression is a wide-spread problem and John Hopkins Medicine reports 9.5% of American adults ages 18 and over will suffer from a depressive illness (major depression, bipolar disorder, or dysthymia) each year. They say women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from major depression as men but both sexes are equally at risk for bipolar depression. 

Sleep problems are closely linked to depression as people with insomnia may have a tenfold higher risk of developing depression than people who get a good night's sleep. Additionally 75 percent of people with depression report trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. 

An interesting study published by JAMA Psychiatry in the May 26, 2021 online version, reports if people wake up an hour earlier than their usual waking hour (without sleeping less) can reduce their risk for major depression. The study consisted of researchers studying data from nearly 840,000 people of European ancestry. They looked for “common variants that influence a person’s chronotype, or sleeping time preference.”

Next they identified participates who suffered from major depression. Their findings suggest individuals who were genetically predisposed to getting up one hour earlier in the morning as compared to later risers had a 23% lower risk of depression. Another smaller study found a lower risk of depression in people who shifted their sleep patterns to going to bed an hour earlier each day and rising an hour earlier in the morning.  

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Source:health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/waking-up-one-hour-earlier-than-usual-may-reduce-depression-risk