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According to a review of 61 studies of patients suffering from severel

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krndatta

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04 Apr 2022, 23:02

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KarishmaB Ma'am,

Option C says that prolonged loss of sleep can lead to temporary impairment. This is a reason that sleep deprivation is not used. Isn't this explaining the paradox above?

Still not clear with the reasoning for option C.

KarishmaB

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05 Apr 2022, 22:46

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krndatta

The argument is talking about "skipping sleep for one night" leading to lifting of depression.
Option (C) is talking about "prolonged sleep deprivation" having negative impact.
These are two very different things. Prolonged sleep deprivation implies skipping sleep over a long period of time, not one night. The impact of prolonged sleep deprivation on our argument is then irrelevant.

MukuDawra

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27 Nov 2023, 03:20

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Hi

I am not able to eliminate option C
C) Prolonged loss of sleep can lead to temporary impairment of judgement comparable to that induced by consuming several ounces of alcohol.

The argument states that immediately after the sleep patients experienced no stress. And as per option C) prolonged sleep impairs judgement of a person so it this impairs the judgement then the patients that reported that they were feeling no stress was actually not the correct judgement of a patient but rather an impaired judgement. So if this is the case then the option C) strengthens the reasoning why sleep is not used as a treatment

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27 Nov 2023, 05:26

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MukuDawra

Here's what we have to notice to eliminate (C).

The treatment discussed in the argument is "missing a night's sleep." After all, the passage says that "a large majority of the patients reported that missing a night's sleep immediately lifted their depression.

In contrast, (C) is about "prolonged loss of sleep." So, the question-writer has made a clear distinction between what the argument is about and what (C) is about. They are two different types of loss of sleep, missing a night's sleep versus prolonged loss of sleep.

If that distinction had not been made, then (C) would be a viable answer. After all, if the treatment caused "impairment of judgment," then we would have a good reason why people don't use it.

Also, that distinction is a reason not to choose (C) for the reason you proposed. After all, if the people mentioned in the passage missed one night's sleep rather than lost sleep on a prolonged basis, then we don't have reason to believe that their judgment was impaired when they said that their depression had been lifted.

So, in general, that distinction between what (C) is about and what the passage is about serves to rule out (C) as the correct answer.

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27 Nov 2023, 08:41

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MukuDawra

"Prolonged loss of sleep" means less sleep over many weeks, months and years. It doesn't mean missing one night's sleep. We often use "prolonged use of this medicine/treatment could lead to so and so side effects" etc which means if you use it over months and years on and on, it could lead to those side effects. But it implies nothing about what happen if you go through one course with it. So you cannot say that losing one night's sleep led to temporary impairment of judgement.

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18 Apr 2026, 09:13

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Is the reason why "(A) For a small percentage of depressed patients, missing a night's sleep induces a temporary sense of euphoria" is wrong because A explain why patients no longer have depression after sleep deprivation but doesn't explain core reason why it's not used as a solution? Hence why it's wrong?

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18 Apr 2026, 10:30

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According to a review of 61 studies of patients suffering from severely debilitating depression, a large majority of the patients reported that missing a night's sleep immediately lifted their depression. Yet sleep deprivation is not used to treat depression even though the conventional treatments, which use drugs and electric shocks, often have serious side effects.

Which of the following, if true, best explains the fact that sleep deprivation is not used as a treatment for depression?

The puzzle is this: sleep deprivation seems to help immediately, so why is it not used as treatment? The best explanation is that the benefit does not last, so it is not a practical treatment.

(A) For a small percentage of depressed patients, missing a night's sleep induces a temporary sense of euphoria.

This does not explain why it is not used. A small side effect in a small percentage is not enough.

(B) Keeping depressed patients awake is more difficult than keeping awake people who are not depressed.

This is not enough. Even if it is difficult, that alone does not explain why it is not used at all.

(C) Prolonged loss of sleep can lead to temporary impairment of judgement comparable to that induced by consuming several ounces of alcohol.

This gives a drawback, but the passage already says conventional treatments also have serious side effects. So this does not fully explain why sleep deprivation is not used.

(D) The dramatic shifts in mood connected with sleep and wakefulness have not been traced to particular changes in brain chemistry.

This is irrelevant. A treatment can be used even if its mechanism is not fully understood.

(E) Depression returns in full force as soon as the patient sleeps for even a few minutes.

This best explains it. If the depression comes right back as soon as the patient sleeps, then the effect is too temporary to be a useful treatment.

Answer: (E)

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20 Apr 2026, 05:14

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TK0697

(A) is not the answer because it doesn't explain why sleep deprivation is not used as a solution. We need an option that explains it.
Option (A) only adds to the data on benefits of sleep deprivation as a therapy for depression.

The argument says that a large majority of the patients reported that missing sleep lifted their depression.
Option (A) says that for a small percentage of depressed patients, missing a night's sleep even induces euphoria (even better than lifting depression).
So then why is sleep deprivation not used, we are not told.

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