Wake-therapy (or “Sleep deprivation”) has the potential of providing a fast anti-depressive response as add-on treatment to pharmaceutical intervention. Agitation in a depressive state is well known and is often associated with interrupted sleep. Although hypomanic symptoms have been reported following a single nights wake, agitation has not been examined.

To examine if agitation increases among inpatients undergoing wake-therapy compared to treatment as usual (TAU).

Admitted patients suffering from a depressive episode will be randomized to either wake-therapy combined with bright light therapy in addition to TAU, including medication, or to TAU alone. Before wake-therapy, patients are assessed using PANSS-EC, aimed at measuring only agitation. The day after a single nights wake, the assessment will be repeated. Likewise, agitation will be assessed in the control group directly after randomization as well as the day after.

In this trial, 50 patients will be randomized for treatment. Results concerning agitation among patients that have undergone the trial will be presented.

Agitation as a side effect of wake-therapy has been scarcely investigated and this randomized trial will contribute to the knowledge of agitation following wake-therapy.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.