Prediction of the antidepressant response to total sleep deprivation by diurnal variation of mood.

The relationship between diurnal variation of mood and response to total sleep deprivation (TSD) was investigated in 131 depressed patients. This response was related to (1) the diurnal variation on the day before TSD as assessed by self-ratings of mood, and (2) the propensity to produce diurnal variations (the "diurnality") as assessed by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Three types of diurnality are distinguished: morning type (the propensity to feel better in the morning), evening type (the propensity to feel better in the evening), and a nondiurnal type. The results show that diurnality does predict the mood response to TSD. The direction of diurnality is decisive: patients who have the propensity to feel better in the evening benefit more from TSD than other patients.