Sleep, Serotonin, and Suicide in Japan

Abstract

This article reviews evidence supporting the hypothesis that suicide rates in Japan could be reduced by elevating serotonin levels via increasing the average duration of sleep. Seven major relevant findings were apparent in the literature: 1) Sleep loss is associated with suicide, but the direction of causality is equivocal. 2) Decreased serotonergic activity may be involved in suicidal behavior. 3) Sleep debt may decrease serotonergic activity. 4) The suicide rate in Japan has remained at a heightened level for the past 12 years. 5) The average sleep duration in Japan has decreased over the past 40 years. 6) The average sleep duration in Japan is among the lowest in the world. 7) The average sleep duration in Japan plateaued in 1995 and has been relatively stable since. From the research reviewed, two major problematic issues were apparent: 1) Most people in Japan receive inadequate sleep. 2) Individuals whose sleep is inadequate are unlikely to be sufficiently physically active to stimulate serotonergic systems to a desirable level. I propose that public health initiatives encouraging a longer duration of sleep may provide a relatively simple way of addressing the disturbing current trend in Japan. The combination of actigraph and brain serotonin level measurement could allow large population-based cohort studies to be designed, to elucidate the causal links between sleep duration, serotonin levels, and suicide rates.

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