“Does lack of dopamine make you sleep more?”
I believe my 20-year-old son suffers from depression, he spends all of his free time sleeping. Does lack of dopamine make you sleep more?
4 Answers
We can't measure neurotransmitters in clinical practice but a "proposed" low dopamine level can cause depression and depression can cause insomnia. Low serotonin neurotransmitter levels have been postulated in causing anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
Rule out medical causes of tiredness and lethargy before thinking of Dopamine.
A change in the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain can certainly modify normal sleep patterns. An assessment of physical and psychological problems should be done to rule out things such as hypothyroidism and depression.
This is not really a fair way to look at the problem. Depression makes people sleep more or it can cause them to have insomnia. Medication can also cause both sleepiness and sleeplessness depending upon the medication for depression. It is more complex than just dopamine levels or interventions. Treatment can be tailored to try to cause better sleep or better wakefulness depending upon the patient.
