Sleep deprivation is a useful therapeutic option in the treatment of depressive disorders, especially in pharmacoresistant disorders. Its therapeutic efficacy in other indications has not, however, been confirmed. According to current knowledge, application of sleep therapy requires concomitant therapy to prevent early relapses of depression. Total sleep deprivation is the classic variant of its clinical use. Partial sleep deprivation has a somewhat less pronounced antidepressant effect, and the duration of sleep deprivation rather than application timing determines its therapeutic effect. The most reliable predictors of sleep deprivation efficacy are marked diurnal fluctuations of depressive mood, patient locomotor activity, and limbic hyperactivity in the central nervous system. The mechanism of the antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation remains unknown.