A 38-year-old woman presents to her physician with a chief complaint of troubling sleeping and feeling depressed for several months. She used to love her job as an architect, but now she dreads going to work every day and finds it extremely difficult to be productive at work. She feels guilty that she is not able to perform at work in the same way she did in the past. When she gets home, she is exhausted and often skips dinner and gets into bed by 7:30 pm. However, she usually tosses and turns and cannot fall asleep until 1 am.
Which of the following sleep changes would be expected on in this patient?
The correct answer is:
E) Repeated nighttime awakenings
This patient meets criteria for major depressive disorder, with depressed mood, sleep disturbance, loss of interest in her job, difficulty concentrating at work, feelings of guilt, and loss of energy and appetite. In major depressive disorder, patients typically experience the following sleep changes: Sleep changes associated with major depressive disorder include decreased slow wave sleep, increased sleep onset latency, decreased total sleep time, decreased sleep efficiency, decreased slow wave sleep and repeated nighttime awakenings.
Key Learning Point
Sleep changes associated with major depressive disorder include Sleep changes associated with major depressive disorder include decreased slow wave sleep, increased sleep onset latency, decreased total sleep time, decreased sleep efficiency, decreased slow wave sleep and repeated nighttime awakenings.
