SLEEP IN PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDERS

Since the antiquity it is well known that psychic disorders are associ ated with a disturbed nocturnal sleep pattern. However, a detailed des cription of the symptom ''sleep disorder'' only became possible by mea ns of the modern technique of polysomnography. It is now accepted that the sleep of depressed patients and also of patients with other psych iatric disorders is disrupted by frequent spontaneous awakenings. The sleep disorder specific for depression, however, is a dysregulation of the sleep during the first hours of the night (slow wave sleep defici t, shortened REM latency, elevated density of rapid eye movements duri ng REM sleep). Although controversially discussed, there is growing ev idence that these sleep disturbances specific for depression are true trait markers, which furthermore are able to predict the first onset o f a depressive disorder.