Understanding the Close Relationship Between Depression and Insomnia

Anyone with difficulty sleeping knows how it affects their energy, mood, and brain power, even if only temporarily. It’s not hard to imagine how persistent insomnia could lead to all-out depression.

Depression notoriously disrupts sleep. Sometimes, people with depression sleep too much, but they’re just as likely to have insomnia and struggle to get a good night’s sleep.

The close relationship that depression and insomnia share makes both conditions worse and can lead to mistaking one for the other — challenges you can overcome with help from Bosede Iwuamadi, DNP, PMHNP, and her team at Newstone Behavioral Health.

You can depend on Dr. Iwuamadi’s experience and expertise in both conditions. She manages your symptoms, accurately diagnoses one or both, and provides personalized care that restores your mental well-being.

Here, we begin by explaining how the two conditions are connected.

Depression or insomnia: Which comes first?

You may feel down, hopeless, and depressed before insomnia begins. You could have sleep problems before depression takes hold. Or both may seem to start at the same time, merging into one ongoing mental and physical challenge.

Whether you have an irregular sleep schedule and sometimes get enough rest, or you have chronic insomnia and never sleep well, you’re more likely to develop depression. People with insomnia have a 10 times greater risk of depression than those who get a good night’s sleep.

Insomnia affects at least 75% of those with depression, making it one of the most common symptoms. Insomnia also leads to more severe depression and increases the risk of developing treatment-resistant depression.

Why depression and insomnia share a relationship

Here are the top three connections between depression and insomnia:

Sleep restores mind and body

While you sleep, your body stays active, performing essential maintenance that keeps you healthy.

Your brain clears toxins and stores memories. Your cardiovascular system has time to rest and heal as blood pressure drops, blood vessels relax, and the heart rate slows.

Insomnia disrupts these critical processes, affecting nerve communication, decreasing neurotransmitter production, and making it hard to regulate emotions and stress — issues that make you vulnerable to depression.

Depression and insomnia share brain chemicals

Brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) regulate your sleep cycles and moods. Depression and insomnia both depend on the same neurotransmitters, namely, serotonin and dopamine.

Low serotonin levels are directly associated with depression. Many medications we prescribe to treat depression work by restoring serotonin in your brain. You also need serotonin to produce melatonin, the hormone that responds to light and makes you feel sleepy at night.

Dopamine also serves a dual role. Depleted dopamine affects your energy and causes symptoms of depression. You need dopamine to ensure you transition from one stage of sleep to the next, which is the only way to get restorative sleep.

Mental and behavioral changes occur

Depression and insomnia change your thinking and behaviors in ways that perpetuate and magnify mood and sleep problems. For example, you may drink more alcohol or caffeine than usual. Both disrupt your sleep cycle.

Depression makes you focus on negative thoughts that keep you awake. Insomnia makes it hard to deal with daily responsibilities, increasing your stress and making you feel irritable and worthless.

Treatment helps depression and insomnia

It doesn’t matter which condition dominates your life or if you’re plagued by both; treatment can help.

We offer customized care with medication management to restore brain chemicals and therapy focused on giving you skills for overcoming depression, insomnia, or both.