Can irregular sleep wake rhythm still be corrected?

This question was asked in Irvine, California on 01/18/2012.
My niece suffers from depression. Her psychiatrist told her that she may also suffer from irregular sleep wake rhythm. She doesn't know where to go from here but she says that her complete inability to hold even a somewhat normal sleep cycle is affecting her more and more. Can this be corrected?

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Doctors Answers (2)

Richard J. Schumann Jr., MD
Answered on: 1/18/2012

Irregular sleep wake pattern is usually seen in individuals with brain injury and is not treatable per se.  The injury causes a temporal disorganization of sleeping and wake behavior. People have 3 or more episodes of sleep in a 24 hour periods.  Depression is commonly associated with insomnia and treatment for this with behavioral and pharmacological means is usually successful.

J. Douglas Hudson, MD, DABSM
Answered on:

Irregular sleep, a circadian rhythm disorder, can be treated with various modalities including, light therapy, melatonin, medications and behavioral sleep modifications.