Let’s face it, there is very little difference between a sleep deprived adult and a sleep deprived baby: they are both cranky and miserable. Sleep loss due to sleep disorders or chronic insomnia has been strongly linked to depression in adults, so it is a serious issue. Sleep loss affects one’s attitude, cognitive function and overall quality of life. Depression has the same effect. A recent survey of depressed people revealed that 97% of them had sleep difficulties and 59% of them reported that the issue significantly affected their quality of life. The link between sleep and depression cannot be ignored, especially when developing treatment plans, for treatments will not work or will not work for long. The cure for a cranky adult may not be as simple as that for a cranky baby, but better sleep management should be among the first therapies assembled in the line of defense.
 

Clinical features of depression in outpatients with and without co-occurring general medical conditions in STAR*D: confirmatory analysis. Yates WR, Mitchell J, John Rush A, Trivedi M, Wisniewski SR, Warden D, Bryan C, Fava M, Husain MM, Gaynes BN Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2007; 9(1):7-15. – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181883/