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Changes in Sleep Patterns Early Predictor of Bipolar Manic Episode?

Posted on September 6, 2008 by Joe

Swinburne University of Technology recently distributed a press release entitled “Body clock changes can predict bipolar relapse ,” announcing that one of its researchers, Dr. Greg Murray, would be discussing his research in a segment on the body clock on the ABC program Catalyst on ABC1 Thursday 4 September at 8.00 pm.

I didn’t catch the show, but from the press release, Murray’s research sounds interesting. Murray has studied the body clock (circadian rhythms) in great depth and has found that these rhythms “can have profound effects on human mood.”

According to Murray, “If you take seriously this idea that the body clock is part of a causal pathway to mood disorders, then a natural deduction is that monitoring clock function might provide early warning of relapse in vulnerable people.”

In his current study, Murray and his PhD student Ben Bullock fitted twelve volunteers diagnosed as having bipolar disorder with wrist-worn devices designed to monitor their circadian system by measuring their physical activity throughout the day and night. Murray and Bullock collected data over the course of 12 months. During that time, one participant experienced a relapse and was hospitalized.

“For our purpose, it was very interesting that circadian activity data really did show a marked signal of deterioration in the days and even weeks before the relapse.” Instead of his activity patterns operating on a 24-hour cycle, the participant shifted to a 48-hour cycle of wakefulness and broken, disturbed rest.

In the next stage of research, the team wants to see if signals of rhythm disruption in patients can be used as markers of vulnerability to bipolar disorder in the general population.

I know from experience that changes in my wife’s sleep patterns are a HUGE predictor of when she is cycling into mania. Normally, she sleeps 8 to 10 hours a day (from 10 pm to 6 am, longer on weekends) and takes a 1 hour nap in the late afternoon. Prior to a manic episode, the sleep cycle continues to diminish from 10 hours to 8 to 6 to 4 to 2, until she’s ultimately functioning on no sleep. She can usually interrupt the cycle by taking sleep aids and focusing on going to bed right at 10 pm… assuming we catch it early enough.

Changes in sleep patterns are a key early-warning sign for us.

In Bipolar Disorder For Dummies, we include a couple sections on circadian rhythms, including a section entitled, “Resetting your circadian clock through interpersonal and social rhythm therapy.”

Comments

3 Responses to “Changes in Sleep Patterns Early Predictor of Bipolar Manic Episode?”

  1. Natural Therapy » Changes in Sleep Patterns Early Predictor of Bipolar Manic Episode? on September 8th, 2008 12:40 am

    [...] Joe put an intriguing blog post on Changes in Sleep Patterns Early Predictor of Bipolar Manic Episode?Here’s a quick excerptAccording to Murray, “If you take seriously this idea that the body clock is part of a causal pathway to mood disorders, then a natural deduction is that monitoring clock function might provide early warning of relapse in vulnerable … [...]

  2. A Look At Sleep Problems on September 8th, 2008 2:00 am

    [...] Changes in Sleep Patterns Early Predictor of Bipolar Manic Episode? [...]

  3. platform bed phil on October 15th, 2008 3:17 pm

    I have a relative with this disorder. She too has issues with sleep and often does naps in the middle of the day to cope. One thing we’ve talked about is the type of mattress she is using. I’ve suggested she try looking for a mattress with a pressure relieving material perhaps if the innerspring she’s using is actually waking her up from her light sleep when she tosses or turns. We all deserve at least 8 hours of sleep and it’s concerning to know that there are folks out there who have to deal with this disorder.

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