Table of contents:
- What is morning depression?
- Why can this condition occur?
- How to detect morning depression symptoms
- What can be done to treat morning depression?
Basically, depression is an emotional disorder or mood that happens continuously. The emergence of depression is greatly influenced by environmental factors, such as stress and biological factors, namely the balance of brain chemicals which reduce the brain's ability to maintain moodremain stable. There are certain conditions that cause depression to come on by itself, namely in the morning. This condition is called morning depression or morning depression.
What is morning depression?
Morning depression is a symptom experienced by a person, especially sufferers of clinical depression, in which the mood becomes very bad in the morning.
Depression symptoms vary. These include feelings of extreme sadness, frustration, anger, and feelings of inadequacy or fatigue. With its worst conditions in the morning, then mood a person will get better on his own as the day and night pass.
This type of depression is considered an early symptom of a clinical depressive disorder. Therefore it is also known as a variation symptom mood diurnal. This means depressive symptoms or mood when the morning is influenced by a person's circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm itself is a biological process that regulates the work schedule of various functions of the human body. Starting from body temperature, blood pressure, and hormone production for one full day.
Why can this condition occur?
Circadian rhythm disturbances are thought to be one of the causes of this type of depression. This is evidenced in a study that shows people who experience morning depression tend to experience changes in their circadian rhythm due to changes in their sleeping hours.
Basically, a normal human biological clock is awake in the morning and asleep at night. This is important in order to accelerate metabolism, regulate energy, concentrate, maintain balance mood, as well as maintaining overall body health.
The normal circadian rhythm for the body is also necessary for the production of certain hormones as needed. For example, the hormone cortisol is produced more in the morning so that the body is more energized and the mind is more alert. Meanwhile, the hormone melatonin is produced when it gets dark. This is because melatonin helps the body to rest by sleeping.
Circadian rhythm disturbances or changes in sleep patterns cause the body to produce hormones at the wrong time and this can have adverse effects on a person's body and mind. Production of the hormone melatonin at inappropriate times, for example, can disrupt energy balance as a person becomes sleepy more easily and tires easily.
How to detect morning depression symptoms
This type of depression only has an impact or effect in the morning. Depressive symptoms experienced tend to improve over time. Here are some symptoms that can be recognized, including:
- Fatigue since waking up for the first time.
- Trouble doing easy jobs like taking a shower and making breakfast.
- Barriers to activity and thinking.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Very irritable and frustrated.
- Change mood which is drastic.
- Losing the desire to do the usual morning activities that you like.
- Feelings of emptiness or despair.
- Change to your morning routine.
- Morning diet changes such as eating more or less.
What can be done to treat morning depression?
Unlike the symptoms of depression in general, treatment with the use of drugs is less effective in overcoming these kinds of depressive symptoms. However, some therapies such as counseling and light therapy tend to be more effective in dealing with the symptoms of this condition. The method is to focus on problems or triggers for depression as well as the causes of circadian rhythm disorders.
Electrical therapy or Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has also been shown to be effective in rebalancing the brain chemicals that cause depression.
Apart from the method of therapy and treatment, here are some lifestyle changes that can be made.
- Set bedtime and wake-up time at the same time each day.
- Maintain a diet at regular times.
- Cut back on taking too long naps.
- Implementing regular exercise. However, avoid exercise intervals and hours of sleep that are too close, for example, less than four hours.
- Create a bedroom atmosphere that makes it easier for you to fall asleep as it's dark, calm, and quite cool.
- Avoid consuming substances that can interfere with sleep quality, such as cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine.
