Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale

Depression ScaleDepression can affect sleep in many different ways. This can include having difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep throughout the night, and a lack of good quality refreshing sleep.

The symptoms of depression include; a feeling of sadness, poor self image, increased anxiety, loss of interest in activities, and problems sleeping.

Depression is defined by suffering from these symptoms for a prolonged period of time, such as a few weeks, months, or sometimes years. Almost everyone encounters these symptoms from time to time, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have depression if they are considered out of the ordinary.

The Zung Self Rated Depression Scale is a short questionnaire consisting of 20 questions used in medical centers around the world that you can answer yourself to discover the extent at which you suffer from depression.

To take the test; please read each statement and decide how much of the time the statement describers how you have been feeling during the past several days.

 

    A little of the timeSome of the timeGood part of the timeMost of the time
  1. I feel down-hearted and blue
  2. Morning is when I feel the best
  3. I have crying spells or feel like it
  4. I have trouble sleeping at night
  5. I eat as much as I used to
  6. I still enjoy sex
  7. I notice that I am losing weight
  8. I have trouble with constipation
  9. My heart beats faster than usual
  10. I get tired for no reason
    11. A little of the timeSome of the timeGood part of the timeMost of the time
  11. My mind is as clear as it used to be
  12. I find it easy to do the things I used to
  13. I am restless and can’t keep still
  14. I feel hopeful about the future
  15. I am more irritable than usual
  16. I find it easy to make decisions
  17. I feel that I am useful and needed
  18. My life is pretty full
  19. I feel that others would be better off if I were dead
  20. I still enjoy the things I used to do

Adapted from: Zung, A self-rating depression scale.
Arch Gen Psychiatry, 1965; 12:63-70.

You Scored:

 

Here is what your score indicates:

ScoreDescription
20 – 49Normal Range
50 – 59Mildly Depressed
60 – 69Moderately Depressed
70 and aboveSeverely Depressed

 

Scores above 59 indicate that there is a significant amount of depression present, which could contribute to insomnia or other sleep problems.

Depression can be the cause of many sleep problems, and by overcoming depression, you would be able to get better sleep. However it is important to note that one of the effects of sleep deprivation is depression, and if this is the cause of depression, getting better sleep will cause it to naturally lift.

It’s for this reason it is useful to understand whether the depression or problems sleeping came first. By treating whichever came first, the latter often also gets resolved. For more information about depression and sleep, take a look at the article The Link Between Depression and Problems Sleeping.

One of the best self help methods for treating clinical depression is the Depression Program from Uncommon Knowledge. For more about the Depression Program, see the above link or visit the Uncommon Knowledge website.

If you are concerned about depression, you should seek the advice of a mental health doctor.