Getting enough sleep is essential for good health. During sleep, the body repairs itself, the brain stores memories, and the immune system becomes stronger.
Good sleep also helps people think clearly, manage emotions, and stay energetic throughout the day. Unfortunately, many adults do not get enough sleep.
In the United States, about one in three adults regularly miss out on the amount of rest their bodies need. Poor sleep can lead to tiredness, difficulty concentrating, lower work performance, and a higher risk of illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression.
Many people who struggle with heart disease or high blood pressure also take daily medicines to protect their health. Among the most commonly prescribed are beta-blockers.
These medicines lower the heart rate and reduce the force with which the heart pumps blood. This reduces the heart’s workload and helps control blood pressure. Doctors also prescribe beta-blockers for conditions such as chest pain, irregular heart rhythms, heart failure, and recovery after a heart attack.
For many years, some patients and doctors have worried that beta-blockers might increase the risk of depression or other mental health problems.
Some people taking these medicines have reported feeling sad, anxious, confused, unusually tired, dizzy, or having trouble sleeping. Because of these reports, some patients have been reluctant to start treatment or have stopped taking their medicine.
Researchers from the Berlin Institute of Health wanted to find out whether these concerns were supported by strong scientific evidence. They carried out one of the largest reviews ever performed on this topic.
The team examined information from 258 clinical studies involving more than 50,000 participants. Most of the studies included people taking beta-blockers to treat high blood pressure, although some involved other heart conditions.
After carefully comparing patients taking beta-blockers with people taking other medicines or placebo tablets, the researchers reached an important conclusion. They found no convincing evidence that beta-blockers increase the risk of depression.
People taking these medicines were no more likely to develop depression than people receiving other treatments or inactive placebo pills.
The researchers also found that patients were no more likely to stop taking beta-blockers because of depression than they were with other medicines. This finding suggests that the long-standing belief that beta-blockers commonly cause depression may not be correct.
However, the study did identify another side effect that deserves attention. Sleep problems were reported more often by people taking beta-blockers. Some participants experienced insomnia, unusual dreams, or disturbed sleep.
Although these sleep problems were usually not severe, they occurred often enough for doctors and patients to be aware of them. Since sleep plays such an important role in overall health, even mild disturbances may affect daily life for some people.
Another finding surprised the researchers. The most common reason people stopped taking beta-blockers was not depression or sleep problems. Instead, many patients reported fatigue. Feeling unusually tired or lacking energy was the side effect most likely to cause people to discontinue their medication.
These findings can help patients and doctors make better treatment decisions. People who need beta-blockers should not avoid them simply because they fear depression, since the evidence does not support a strong link. At the same time, anyone who notices poor sleep or ongoing fatigue while taking the medicine should discuss these symptoms with their doctor.
In many cases, adjusting the dose, changing the timing of the medication, or considering another treatment may help while still protecting heart health.
The researchers emphasize that patients should never stop taking beta-blockers without medical advice because suddenly stopping these medicines can be dangerous. Instead, any concerns about side effects should be discussed with a healthcare professional.
The study was led by Reinhold Kreutz and his colleagues and was published in the journal Hypertension. The findings provide reassuring evidence about the mental health safety of beta-blockers while reminding doctors to pay close attention to sleep quality and fatigue when caring for patients taking these widely used heart medicines.
If you care about depression, please read studies that vegetarian diet may increase your depression risk, and Vitamin D could help reduce depression symptoms.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that ultra-processed foods may make you feel depressed, and these antioxidants could help reduce the risk of dementia.
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