[Mari]

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/15/212276...world-of-sleep

On how sleep makes memory stronger

"When it comes to strengthening [memory], we know that the neural responses in your brain that are associated with things you've recently experienced are spontaneously replayed, or, we say, 'reactivated' while you're asleep.

On the "spring cleaning" sleep does to the brain

"And the problem is, if you keep storing all of this stuff, you reach capacity and you can't keep storing more. And so what happens during sleep, and specifically during the deep stage of sleep that we call slow-wave sleep, is that all of those synapses get downscaled again. So where they've been strengthened up, they all get proportionally downscaled."

On treating depression by suppressing REM sleep

"In some people who are depressed, it's a good thing to suppress their REM [sleep] because REM is associated with specifically strengthening emotional memories, and in many cases negative memories.
So there's an idea that it might be that in people who have too much REM, as many depressed people do, these negative memories are getting over-strengthened, and that can actually be quite damaging and quite pathological."

[waves]

Very interesting, Mari.

I wonder how this fits in with our meds.

I wonder what the implications are for the benzodiazepines and depression. Just thinking, because I have had what seemed to be REM rebound during benzodiazepine reduction. This is kind of surprising because I thought they impaired slow wave sleep (deep sleep). . I dunno, I haven't researched it. (So many questions, so much time -- but never enough!) Maybe they impair REM independently? This begs the question, "Just what kind of sleep do we get, when we take a benzo?"

Another thing. With the SSRI's and notably with Zoloft, I have repeatedly had vivid/lucid dreaming during therapy initiation (1st week) as well as during sharp dose adjustments. This suggests a temporary increase in REM but I have not found an explanation for this! (I haven't looked very hard -- your post awakened a latent curiosity.) I have also had vivid dreams (to a lesser degree) upon discontinuation, but this is suggestive of REM rebound and is consistent with documented REM suppression by SSRI's and many other antidepressants.

Maybe I will do some more research to try to make some sense of these things.
waves

[bizi]

This is an interesting piece thank you for sharing it.
So SSRI's interfer with sleep?
bizi

[waves]

Originally Posted by bizi

This is an interesting piece thank you for sharing it.
So SSRI's interfer with sleep?
bizi

Yes. Most antidepressants, not just the SSRIs, affect sleep. However, the specific effects vary between individual drugs, even within the same class.

Abstract: Antidepressants and their effect on sleep
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16229049

REM sleep suppression has been observed with all TCAs except trimipramine, but especially clomipramine, with all MAOIs and SSRIs and with venlafaxine, trazodone and bupropion. However, the effect on sleep varies between compounds within antidepressant classes, differences relating to the amount of sedative or alerting (insomnia) effects, changes to baseline sleep parameters, differences relating to REM sleep, and the degree of sleep-related side effects.

waves