For example, total sleep deprivation causes better improvements in mood for bipolar and single-episode patients compared with unipolar depression. Within the spectrum of bipolar disorders, bipolar I patients respond more frequently than bipolar II patients. The role of sleep deprivation in bipolar disorder is discussed below. It is in the same family as clinical depression, although unlike depression, is affects equal numbers of men and women.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by bouts of mania followed by bouts of depressions.
Usually shifts from one state to another are quite gradual. R ecurring cycles have cumulative deteriorating effects on both the functioning of the individual and his or her response to treatment, and thus rapid diagnosis and treatment is essential. It has been estimated that, on average, early treatment results in a 7 years gain on life. The depressive episodes are treated in a manner similar to clinical depression. Sleep deprivation can cause depression to remit and thus can be used as alternative to drugs.