Capability Detecting Depression

[haghighat]

I was wondering if Fitbit can detect the possibility of depression based on the activity level of the user and his/her sleep patterns. Having enough data from depressed and non-depressed individuals, it may be possible to train a deep neural network model that can detect the anomaly in such patterns and try to guess the possibility of depression or fatigue in people. 

This can be a very attractive feature to the people who suffer from depression and also their family members. Because some forms of depression come in episodes and there is a chance that the depressed person will harm himself/herself during that period without knowing that those feelings are due to being depressed and not the reality of life.

This feature can also be a good marketing point and will attract a lot of attention because it will show that Fitbit cares about its users' well-being both physically and mentally. 

Thank you for considering and supporting the suggestions. 

Sincerely,
Mo

Moderator edit: Clarified subject

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @haghighat. 

Thank you for sharing your idea and posting an in-depth explanation. It sounds like something that could be used in a variety of contexts.

Let's see what other users have to say about it.

[haghighat]

@LanuzaFitbit:
Thank you very much for your kind considerations. Considering the importance of mental and psychological health, I hope the other users will also support this feature.

[Mosab]

It's a great Idea and I thoroughly agree with you @haghighat.

[psho]

I'd also recommend coupling this feature with (or reusing some data from) female health tracking because I've definitely noticed a pattern!

Having that said, what do you think Fitbit can do once it detects an episode? I can see that tracking steps leads to a user realizing that he/she should simply walk more. But when one is depressed and gets an alert about it, what would he/she do?

[Joepaddle]

Your trying to replace a person with technology.How many people have harmed themselves in a state of depression day to day in the United States?My mental health is to important to leave to a fitness tracker that has a margin of error.When I look down and see my heart monitor stopped...I don’t have a heart attack.The best app to detect your depression is the app in your head.Listen to it.

[askmrhp]

Mental health professionals use Bluetooth devices that detect pulse,Spo2 and Blood pressure.

online to help treat people with depression,anxiety,etc. Insurance companies are backing such programs.