Improving Mental Health with Technology | night owl or early bird?

 Imagine this:  A wristband that records motion throughout a 24-hour period that helps clinicians determine whether a person will respond positively to an antidepressant.

Mental Health Update | A study (posted in Psychiatry Advisor) by Georgia researchers reviewed the use of a motion detection wristband that records motion throughout a 24-hour cycle. The device is used to determine if a person is a night owl or an early-bird, a lark.  Posted in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, here are some of their findings:

W. Vaughn McCall, MD, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia, enrolled 58 people with major depressive disorder who were not on medication. Participants were then givenfluoxetine (Prozac) for nine weeks, coupled with blinded, randomized assignment to eszopiclone (Lunesta)/placebo.

Depression Help | They were also outfitted with a smartband to see if they were more active at night (“night owls”) or earlier in the day (“early birds”). The research suggests the rest-activity pattern of patients may be a biomarker for antidepressant response.

The night owl group responded better to fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), than the early birds, the researchers reported in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

• “It makes sense that owls are good responders since SSRIs tend to shift rest time to a more usual, middle-of-the-night time frame,” McCall said in a statement.

He added that they early birds might respond to a drug belonging to a different class of antidepressants, such as bupropion, which targets dopamine, providing a slight stimulation that may help them readjust their lowest activity times — which should relate with deep sleep times — to slightly later in the day.

Improving Mental Health | The best part here is that with continued focus, researchers can better identify areas where prescribers can sharpen their skills and use responsive tools to improve outcomes for the patients that they treat.  One size methodology does not fit all.  

We all know that you probably fall into the early bird or night owl realm, technology helps understand what type of medication could work the best for you.