The role of biological rhythms
Changes in the body’s natural biological rhythms can also contribute to the development of depression.
This refers primarily to the “sleep-wakefulness” rhythm, the rhythms of daily changes in body temperature, blood pressure, and hormone release. The cause of these disorders can be hidden in the nerve centers located in the region of the limbic system of the brain.
Within the framework of the theory of “biological rhythms”, the decrease in the duration of sleep and the disruption of the normal electrical activity of the brain during this period are explained by the desynchronization of the physiological functions of the brain. It is believed that changes in the ratio of sleep phases occur due to a decrease in the activity of brain systems that are sensitive to the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Either way, the normalization of the sleep-wake cycle always reduces the manifestations of depression.
It is also important that the observance of the normal rhythm of food intake and a number of other habitual rhythms of daily life contributes to the restoration of sleep and, as a result, to the improvement of the state. At present, for the treatment of depression with success used drugs that restore the circadian rhythm.