I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder last year. Let’s just say it was rough year but I’ve had a lot of improvement since, but still struggle with low periods.
I’ve had a Fitbit charge 3 for a couple months now. My favorite feature is waking up and seeing my sleep patterns, they are always interesting, because they change drastically from week to week and with mood cycles.
My average for REM last month was 15% and my deep sleep was a sad 8% (both stats are lower than average).
But what’s been really interesting is that I go into REM sleep first, rather than deep sleep. I started looking into this, and according to research, people suffering from depression tend to have early onset REM and often too much.
Even when they are in remission.*
Last week I had a low week leading up
to my menstrual cycle (which always zaps me into a deeper low). Sure enough my REM sleep was very active and early and deep was very low. Following the conclusion of my cycle, I started following a more “normal” pattern with deep sleep initiating first and REM coming later. My deep sleep amounts are terrible tho, last night I clocked lovely 12 min and that was following a late night out the previous night. Besides the low deep sleep, I noticed my mood is better and I believe it shows in my the sleep data.
Anyone else seeing swings like this?
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