Diagnosis and treatment of insomnia and depression

Disturbed sleep is a common problem particularly among depressed patients. Diagnostic and treatment considerations are reviewed for two of the more common insomnia problems, psychophysiological insomnia and insomnia associated with depression. Studies of the actual sleep patterns of patients with these disorders reveal reliable differences that are important to understand for optimized treatment outcome. As the differentiation of sleep disorders becomes more precise and the pharmacologic armamentarium becomes greater, emphasis needs to be placed on both understanding the etiology of the sleep complaint and selecting a drug that is best matched to correct the underlying problem.