Sleep Medication For Anxiety And Depression

Talk To Your Physician

Difficulty sleeping may stem from an underlying medical condition, such as obstructive sleep apnea. Restless leg syndrome and bruxism can also interfere with sleep. These medical issues may cause sleep problems that worsen or cause depression.

Its important to talk to your physician about any sleep problems or depressive symptoms youre experiencing. Your physician can assess whether you have underlying health issues contributing to your conditions.

What Is The Relationship Between Anxiety And Sleep

Serious sleep disturbances, including insomnia, have long been recognized as a common symptom of anxiety disorders. People who are plagued with worry often ruminate about their concerns in bed, and this anxiety at night can keep them from falling asleep.

In fact, a state of mental hyperarousal, frequently marked by worry, has been identified as a key factor behind insomnia. People with anxiety disorders are inclined to have higher sleep reactivity, which means they are much more likely to have sleeping problems when facing stress.

Sleeping difficulties have been found for people with various types of anxiety including generalized anxiety disorder, OCD, and PTSD. In several studies, over 90% of people with PTSD associated with military combat have reported symptoms of insomnia.

Distress about falling asleep can itself complicate matters, creating a sleep anxiety that reinforces a persons sense of dread and preoccupation. These negative thoughts about going to bed, a type of anticipatory anxiety, can create challenges to healthy sleep schedules and routines.

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At the same time, strong evidence indicates that sleeping problems are not only a symptom of anxiety. Instead, sleep deprivation can instigate or worsen anxiety disorders. Researchers have found that people who are prone to anxiety are especially sensitive to the effects of insufficient sleep, which can provoke symptoms of anxiety.

The Health Risks Associated With Depression And Sleep Disturbances

Depression and sleep disturbances can take a toll on your physical health if left untreated. One 2010 study found that lack of sleep was associated with a higher risk of early death. Lack of sleep increases the risk of heart disease and failure, heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and obesity.

Depression can constrict blood vessels, which may increase your risk of heart disease. People with depression may experience a weakened immune system, aches and pains, and fatigue.

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What Drug Best For Severe Insomnia Along With Depression And Anxiety

Asked

12 Mar 2011 by moldedstrain

blaze22

I am a seclusive type and for 7 months now, I’ve been on Celexa 40mg a day as well as klonopin .05mg, klonopin take as needed but no more than 3 a day which I usually don’t… first things first, you need to be acessed by a psychiatrist to find out if you are more on the bi-polar or the extreme anxiety panic compulsive disorder which I was diagnosed… I have been on many depression med’s over the years, going on … uh 17 yrs now and can most certainly say that it is a trial and error thing… what one does for one person may not necessarily do for the next… It takes patience, knowing your body and what signs to look for… The most popular that I know of for what you are describing, is Celexa being fairly new, Zoloft, Xanax, which that last one I would steer from if possible because the outcome of that drug has not so positive reviews and Elavil…

stuartshomepc

Some very good points here. I suffered from depression after my divorce. It was rough. The first person to talk to is your regular Doc. They may be able to start you on something quickly but as this person said “what one does for one person may not necessarily do for the next..” is do true. And things don’t take effect overnight. Sometimes a psychiatrist is good as they are more specialized in this than a general doctor. And they may be able to talk you through a potential issue that is troubling you.

gentlefootprint+3gentlefootprint+1LaurieShay

Hey moldedstrain,

The Connection Between Antidepressants And Sleep

So, how closely connected are antidepressants and sleep?

Well, to understand that, we need to look at the link between sleep and depression, or psychological illnesses.

To fall asleep each night you need to be more than just tired.Your sleeping experience is a very fragile thing. It can be disrupted by anything from anxiety to feelings of hunger, discomfort, or pain.

Feeling depressed is a very common cause of insomnia. Its why many people turn to exercise and meditation to help clear their mind before they go to bed.

Additionally, the less you sleep, the more likely you are depressed. When youre sleep-deprived, one of the significant symptoms youll experience is an inability to control your emotions.

Sleep deprivation makes your amygdala , become hypersensitive.

That means you can respond more aggressively to all kinds of stimuli, leading to dramatic negative emotions.

According to some studies, the sensitivity of the amygdala is a main factor in causing people with insomnia to have a ten times greater risk of developing depression.

The more depressed you feel, the more symptoms of sleep disorders youll experience.

These including difficulty staying asleep, falling asleep, and getting the right quality of sleep. Whats more, obstructive sleep apnea is also linked to depression.

One study into 18,980 people found that people with depression were five times more likely to suffer from breathing disorders in their sleep.

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Types Of Cns Depressants

CNS depressants work in your brainwhich is where the CNS comes from . These medications slow normal brain function, which is why they are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders.

Below are types of CNS depressants:

• Benzodiazepines: Examples of this type of medication include diazepam , alprazolam , triazolam , and estazolam . Benzodiazepines are typically prescribed to treat anxiety disorders and sleep disorders on a short-term basis, as using them for long periods increases the risk of addiction and dependence.

• Non-benzodiazepine sleep aids: Examples of this type of medication include zolpidem , eszopiclone , and zalepon . These drugs are like benzodiazepines in that they both work on the same brain receptors, but non-benzodiazepine sleep drugs have fewer reported side effects and less dependence risk.

• Barbiturates: Examples of this type of medication include mephobarbital , phenobarbital , and pentobarbital sodium . Barbiturates arent as commonly prescribed for anxiety or sleep disorders because they have a higher overdose risk compared to benzodiazepines.

When To Try Sleeping Pills

Consider these drugs if the sleep problems are affecting your quality of life and nothing else has helped. But your health-care provider should watch you carefully to make sure that the drug is helping and not causing bad side effects.

This report is for you to use when talking with your healthcare provider. It is not a substitute for medical advice and treatment. Use of this report is at your own risk.

09/2013

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What Should I Know About Storage And Disposal Of This Medication

Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from light, and excess heat and moisture .

Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. Talk to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage/recycling department to learn about take-back programs in your community. See the FDA’s Safe Disposal of Medicines website for more information if you do not have access to a take-back program.

It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location â one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach.

How Common Are Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental illness, affecting the lives of around 20% of American adults and 25% of teenagers each year.

Not all people with anxiety disorders have the same degree of symptoms or impact from anxiety on their everyday life. In one large survey, around 43% of adults described having mild impairment of their life from anxiety. Around 33% said it was moderate, and nearly 23% said it was severe.

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Antidepressants That Help With Sleep And Anxiety

When you speak to a doctor or psychologist about treatment for your mental health and sleeping conditions, its important to ensure that they understand that bothyour sleep and your emotions need help.

Sometimes, your doctor will recommend using drugs that will restore your sleep before you begin using antidepressants. It could clear up just how severe your depression is.

The sedative sleeping medications are often used alongside psychotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy.

You will be advised to use these sleeping pills for a very short period of time, as they are highly addictive.

If your doctor chooses this route, its usually because they want to get to the root cause of your depression, before prescribing long-term medication.

Additionally, its important to take into account the existence of sleep disorders alongside a depression. Treatment for depression is often complicated by these.

For instance, if you have depression and problems with sleep apnea at the same time, youll need to avoid sedating antidepressants. They can supress your breathing.

Whats more, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the most common choice for depression treatment, are often the worst for those with insomnia.

Otherwise known as SSRIs these medications can improve mood in many conditions. However, they also create insomnia, making them unfit antidepressants for sleep.

However, TCAs can cause side effects, including high blood pressure, weight gain and dryness in the mouth.

The Treatment Of Insomnia Disorder Without Depression

Figure 2

Sedative-hypnotic drugs are commonly used for the treatment of insomnia, but long-term use of such drugs may lead to tolerance and even exacerbate sleep disturbances., Sedating antidepressants at low dosages are often prescribed to insomnia patients. The TCA amitriptyline, trimipramine and doxepin, the serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor trazodone and the tetracyclic antidepressant mirtazapine have been found to improve total sleep time and sleep efficiency and reduce wake after sleep onset and latency to persistent sleep., However, due to the lack of randomized clinical trials, only doxepin is approved by FDA and recommended for the treatment of insomnia. Moreover, different antidepressants may in turn cause different sleep disturbances, such as RLS, sleep bruxism, REM behaviour disorder and nightmares, as well as weight gain, which is contraindicated in patients with obstructive sleep apnea., – In our opinion, sedative antidepressants are safe in low doses, for example, for doxepin as low as 3-6 mg, which can be applied in patients when hypnotics are contraindicated, for example, elderly patients, patients with sleep apnea and patients with a history of alcohol and substance abuse.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Depression

The symptoms of depression can include physical changes as well as changes in moods and thoughts that interfere with normal daily activities. Symptoms may include:

• Persistent sad, low, or irritable mood
• Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, or guilt
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities
• Insomnia, waking up too early, or oversleeping
• Low appetite or overeating
• Thoughts of death or suicide

Depression is more common in women and there may be differences in the symptoms of depression based on sex and age. Men often experience symptoms such as irritability and anger, whereas women more frequently experience sadness and guilt. Adolescents with depression may be irritable and have trouble in school, and younger children may pretend to be sick or worry that a parent may die.

What Is Sleep Anxiety

Sleep anxiety is fear or worry about going to sleep. You may be apprehensive about not falling asleep or not being able to stay asleep. Some people also have a distinct phobia, or fear, about sleep called somniphobia. They may think something bad will happen to them while they sleep, or that they shouldnt sleep because they need to stay alert and watchful.

Sleep and psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, often go hand in hand. If you have an anxiety disorder, you may find it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. Similarly, if you have a sleep disorder, you might feel anxious or fearful before bed because youre afraid you wont get the rest you need. One condition usually makes the other worse, so it can feel like a never-ending cycle.

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Why Is It Important To Treat Insomnia

Sleep plays a number of important functions in your health. It helps you learn and form new memories, and it removes toxins from your brain that build up while youre awake. After a sleepless night, it can be harder for you to concentrate on work or school, and youre more at risk for accidents or injuries.

In addition to increasing your risk for anxiety disorders or making them worse, lack of sleep or poor sleep over a long period of time can increase your risk for a number of health problems, including:

• Heart disease

• Obesity

In short, sleep is vital to your physical and mental health. Besides helping to improve your anxiety, a regular good nights sleep can make you feel more alert and refreshed, and help you function well in everyday life.

How Does Anxiety Cause Insomnia

Anxiety can disrupt sleep in a few ways.

The nighttime hours are quieter and there isnt as much going on, which gives you more time to think. You may focus on fears or other things in your life that are bothering you, which can make it hard to relax and fall asleep.

In addition, researchers believe that anxiety can cause you to have a number of false alarms of danger throughout the day. These episodes can lead to a state of feeling on edge, which can make it harder to fall and stay asleep.

Some people may also fear falling asleep, which is known as somniphobia. They may be scared of having nightmares, dying in their sleep, or sleep paralysis . Somniphobia can lead to sleep loss, extreme tiredness, and problems doing everyday activities.

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Antidepressants For Sleep: Happier And Healthier Sleeping Patterns

Trouble sleeping?

Youre not alone.

Countless people today have a hard time drifting off to sleep. Often, problems of insomnia are caused by everything from chronic pain and discomfort, to issues with anxiety.

Unfortunately, the complicated nature of insomnia means that finding the righttreatment is easier said than done.

For instance, depression and sleep problems often go together hand-in-hand.

If you often feel down or overwhelmed by negative emotions, its hard to achieve the feeling of relaxation required for a good nights sleep.

However, many of the medications used to treat depression can add to your sleep problems.

Sleep deprivation and depression issues are closely linked. Insomnia is a common side effect of many antidepressants. Because of this, your doctor or sleep expert have to consider the choice of medication very carefully.

Here, were going to look at the antidepressants used for sleep support and emotional wellbeing.

Can Insomnia Also Cause Anxiety

Yes, it can. If you have insomnia, you may become anxious about your lack of sleep. One study on teenagers found that sleep problems started before their anxiety disorders almost a third of the time.

Researchers have also found that the brains of people who havent slept well look very similar to the brains of people with anxiety disorders. The sleep-deprived brain produces more stress hormones like cortisol, which can make you feel more on edge.

So, insomnia can come before anxiety disorders or make the symptoms of anxiety disorders worse. The two can also feed off each other. If you have enough sleepless nights over time, you may start to worry that you wont ever get good sleep, which can lead to more anxiety and more insomnia.

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Who Can And Cannot Take Trazodone

Trazodone can be taken by adults over 18 years of age for depression or anxiety, or both.

Check with your doctor before starting to take trazodone if you:

• have had an allergic reaction to trazodone or any other medicines in the past
• have had thoughts of self-harming or ending your life
• have recently had a heart attack or have heart, kidney or liver problems
• are taking sleeping tablets
• have epilepsy or are having electroconvulsive treatment trazodone may increase your risk of having a seizure
• are pregnant, trying to become pregnant or breastfeeding
• have the rare diseases porphyria or phaeochromocytoma

If you have diabetes, trazodone can make it more difficult to keep your blood sugar stable.

Monitor your blood sugar more often for the first few weeks of treatment with trazodone and adjust your diabetes treatment if necessary.

Speak to your doctor if your blood sugar levels are causing you concern.

Which Antidepressants Help You Sleep

The complex relationship between antidepressants and sleep means that it can often take some time before you find the right treatment. Doctors will sometimes start by giving you an SSRI medication and see how you respond.

If youre struggling with sleep anxiety, then some SSRIs may help you to feel calmer about going to bed, particularly when theyre combined with over-the-counter sleep aids and meditation.

SSRIs include citalopram, paroxetine, and fluoxetine and others.

SNRIs, or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, may be a better option when SSRIs are deemed unsuitable.

Drugs like Venlafaxine, Duloxetine, and Desvenlafaxine are commonly used when depression comes with other symptoms like anxiety or pain disorders.

SNRIs can sometimes be better antidepressants used for sleep anxiety and other sleep disorders.

The most common choices for treating both sleep deprivation and depressions are tricyclic antidepressants. This group includes Nortriptyline, Amitriptyline and Trimipramine and others.

Your doctor may also suggest sedating antidepressants like Silenor, Trazodone, and Mirtazapine.

However, its worth noting that antidepressants used for sleep can make you feel drowsy during the day.

If youre worried about having trouble concentrating, you can ask your doctor about combining daytime and nighttime medications.

Also try daily exercise and treatments like yoga to help you overcome side effects.

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