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Above average R.E.M.

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 Hi,

I like the way Fitbit now shows sleep analysis and it's results are starting to make a bit more sense to me. I'm often tired (body and mind), and can be irritable and have suffered from depression for years. I've noticed I have above average length of time for R.E.M. Sleep, which has been connected to depression and irratibility (see above) I don't feel like I have much deep sleep I think the above example was a good night for deep sleep tbh. 

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for getting a bit more deep sleep and a little less R.E.M.? (As much as I love being able to recall many dreams each night sometimes I just need a proper rest)

 

 

 

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My sleep looks very similar. Meditation is aways a good idea, but in my experience, exersise is the problem. I know I don't get nearly enough physical activity, but my job as a software engineer requires daily learning. I think that's why I get less deep and more REM. Back when I was exercising, I think I remember Fitbit telling me my cycles were more balanced. I'm going to try and start exercising again when our elliptical gets here to see if that helps, but it's hard to find time with a needy baby around.

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Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor and if you have any worries, you should take them up with one of those.

 

I wouldn't be too worried about the one percentage point because the striped range is the typical range (simple guideline) for each sleep stage. You may also want to go back and see if this is a normal reading for you.

 

I almost never check my sleep stages, but your description sounds a lot like me, so I went a couple of weeks back to check and realized that according to Fitbit, my REM and deep sleep are under the range (same range as yours) 90% of the time. REM most often at 10%. My light sleep goes from 60-70+%.

I have years of sleep issues and daily fatigue behind me (still unresolved), but I had a sleep study last year that came back normal (I still don't fully believe that).

 

A good and easy tip for better sleep is to review your sleep hygiene to see if there are rooms for improvement. Getting enough sleep and learning de-stress is also important.

Other tips would include seeing your doctor about depression, sleep and/or fatigue if you haven't already. Feeling tired is often a symptom of depression, but it can also be as simple as not having enough of certain vitamins or minerals. Vitamin D and Iron are usually the first suspects in my experience. Another (slightly worse) suspect is sleep apnea.

 

Hope some of my (purely as a patient) sleep knowledge was of some helpSmiley Happy

Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
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I wouldn't read too much into any of these stages--just something interesting to look at.

 

This is anecdotal, but I am way above normal REM levels for my age and I'm not irritable, angry, depressed or anxious. Most people think I am too laid back....

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Inalso have above average REM and lower deep sleep. I'm typically on 28% REM (30 day average) while the normal range is for my age is 15-25%. My deep sleep is a bit lower than average (11%) . I'm a bit worried that I am typically very stressed, not sure if this is the cause or the consequence. Any advice? 

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That's exactly the same as me. I am diagnosed with anxiety and depression and have ALWAYS been a stress case...my REM sleep is over and my deep sleep is lower. I also wonder if this could have something to do with my "issues"? Good to know I'm not alone! Thx for posting!

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Hi everyone-I also experienced too much REM and too little deep sleep. Since I had read that it can affect anxiety and depression I thought meditation might help, and I was right. I downloaded an app called Headspace, and have been using it approximately 5x a week. It has increased my deep sleep by several percentage points, blood pressure has also gone down, and have had fewer food and alcohol cravings. I thought meditation was a bunch of nonsense but as it turns out, I was wrong. It took at least 30 days to see a change and it can be frustrating at times, but the rewards are worth it. 

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Hi! I also get too much REM and not enough deep sleep. That's an interesting correlation, my REM sleep is at 30%  and Deep sleep at 13% currently.  I also suffered from chronic depression, though right now I am doing pretty good. I should note that I am a night shift worker (11p -730a 4x/wk) so that affects my sleep a lot, I have found that by taking a sleep supplement with melatonin, magnesium, 5-HTP, and GABA I have seen improvements to increasing my deep sleep (I was previously low as 5%). I have always used meditation, though I have kinda fallen out of habit with it lately so I am interested to see how that may improve sleep quality.

I wouldn't put too much stock in strict numbers though, maybe keep a journal of how you are feeling at certain percentages and things you have done to increase sleep quality and most importantly how those changes affect your awake hours. Everyone's body and brain are different but it is cool that we have all these new gadgets to give us some data to look back on while we make changes to improve! 

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I am an older woman, recently retired and also have above the average REM but my other stages are within the benchmark ranges. I have a history of anxiety and depression but currently, I feel well.  

I have read that antidepressants of the SSRI type can help suppress REM and I wonder if, having been on them for many years (but haven't been on them for three years now), this might be a factor in increased range since I have heard psychiatrists talk about how being on SSRI antidepressants can alter your brain pretty much permanently. 

 

I am not advocating for anybody to stop their medication, of course, but am just curious about the REM.  I suspect as the poster above suggested, that my numbers are perfectly normal for me.  

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I hadn't realised how much REM sleep we needed.  I never get enough deep sleep but my REM I thought was okay, until I read this!  However last night I apparently had 31% REM sleep, which for me is unheard of.  I'm another that suffers with anxiety and depression and I take medication, have done for years, which often makes me wonder if it's messed up my sleep pattern.  My 30 day average says 14% for REM and 10% for deep sleep.

 

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Remember that fitbit makes an intelligent guess of your sleep from movement and heart rate so may not be very accurate, just a sort of about there-ish measurement. Going to bed a bit earlier to get enough sleep is probably the most important thing. someone will come up with an easy way to monitor brain waves in the next decade or so.

Something is better than nothing. Be happy 🙂
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I know I’m late Replying to this thread but wanted to share. Last night my REM sleep was more than double what I usually average. I vividly remember several different dreams which is a little unusual, so it prompted me to evaluate what was different about last night. Two things came to mind. First, I ate spaghetti for dinner, not that unusual, but a little unusual for me, not a huge spaghetti fan. I’ll admit I was sure the spaghetti sauce was the culprit given it has a reputation for causing nightmares/ weird dreams, Then I remembered I took a melatonin before before bed to help me fall asleep. After a quick Google search I found that studies have been shown to increase REM sleep! Anyhoo, just thought it worth sharing.

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That's wild! what's in your spaghetti sauce? Lol!

It's probably just the melatonin;) Thanks for the tip.

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My sleep looks very similar. Meditation is aways a good idea, but in my experience, exersise is the problem. I know I don't get nearly enough physical activity, but my job as a software engineer requires daily learning. I think that's why I get less deep and more REM. Back when I was exercising, I think I remember Fitbit telling me my cycles were more balanced. I'm going to try and start exercising again when our elliptical gets here to see if that helps, but it's hard to find time with a needy baby around.

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You are onto aomething with keeping a jpurnal maybe fitbit could add a sleep journal comment section to each day!?

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I also have around 30% average of REM sleep, however I’m different like other as I don’t suffer with any anxiety or depression. I have to refreshed after 5-6hrs if sleep. I love learning, being challenged an engineering company on a daily basis. I also enjoy mediation and psychical activity like yoga, or aerial activities like pole. My activity practice always gives me a different perspective a lot of handing upside down 🙂 I assisciate my high REM with a lot of learning on daily basis so it’s not always bad. For those who feel tried I would suggest you first come up wit your sleepy routine, wake up early, do some exercises, plenty of water. But I also think you need to look at the quality of air you are breathing a solution in closed spaces is really high. Add all those chemicals you use for cleaning and washing your clothes, dust particles and no wander you’ve wake up tried. Poor diet also contributes to lack of sleep. For those suffering with anxiety and depression i would suggest mediation, this does wonders and really helps u to understand the root cause of our anxiety and feelings of depression. Have suffered for depression for few years. You can help yourself guys and i stongky believe in you.

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I would say the night shift pattern has a lot to do with your chronic depression and sleep patterns, it’s a lot for the body and the mind to work against regular patterns day/night. It’s like wanting to run diesel engine on petrol, same lack of daylight has a major effect on health, also sleeping when not dark will not give so much rest as during the night. Hope you can make it work! 🙂

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Fitbit is definitely not accurate on sleep.  I have sleep apnea.  It tracks my sleep for my Dr. and the Insurance company.  The apnea device shows more sleep and less disturbance.

 

Regarding, your depression issue.  Melatonin, depression meds, various dietary changes, or perhaps get tested for apnea are all possible assistence to your issue.  NOTE: not solutions.

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I agree with this. I was curious about how accurate my VERSA was logging my sleep stages; so I wore it to a sleep study at the hospital.  Turns out it was way off, I was in REM for 95% of the study with no light or deep sleep.  The tracker said I was in REM for about 20 percent of the time.

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this is interesting

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that is interesting

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