PRIVAÇÃO DO SONO COMO OPÇÃO TERAPÊUTICA NO TRATAMENTO DO TRANSTORNO DEPRESSIVO MAIOR: UMA REVISÃO SISTEMÁTICA

ABSTRACT Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder characterized by alterations in sleep patterns as a common symptom. Sleep deprivation (SD) has been investigated as a potential intervention in the management of depression due to its ability to induce antidepressant effects in certain individuals and may be particularly beneficial for patients with treatment-resistant depression. The aim of this study was to assess and understand the impact that sleep deprivation may have on patients with MDD. Methods: A systematic review was conducted through searches of the PubMed, LILACS, and MEDLINE databases. The initial search yielded 3,950 articles. After analysis based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 22 articles were selected for full-text review, from which 9 were included in this review. Results: The majority of the selected studies demonstrated that sleep deprivation was beneficial in alleviating depressive symptoms. However, SD appears to be associated with only short-term and transient relief of depressive symptoms, suggesting that chronotherapeutic strategies—such as various SD protocols—may be effective in treating depression during the latency period of antidepressant medications or in the depressive phase of bipolar disorder. While some studies indicate promising long-term and sustained effects of this therapy, the evidence remains inconclusive, emphasizing the need for further randomized controlled trials to evaluate this variable. Conclusion: The use of SD in the treatment of MDD demonstrated a short-term reduction in depressive symptoms, though the improvement was not considered clinically significant. Major limitations of SD as an alternative treatment for MDD include the lack of standardized application protocols, limited understanding of its efficacy across different subtypes of depression, and its interaction with other therapeutic modalities and influencing factors, such as gender, age, and genetic predisposition. Therefore, high-quality clinical trials are needed to investigate the effects of SD on depressive symptoms in larger populations. KEY WORDS: Sleep deprivation; Treatment; Major Depressive Disorder.