Assessing REM Sleep as a Biomarker for Depression Using Consumer Wearables.

ABSTRACT: Background: Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep disinhibition-shorter REM latency and a larger nightly REM fraction-is a well-described laboratory correlate of major depression. Whether the same pattern can be captured efficiently with consumer wearables in everyday settings remains unclear. We therefore quantified REM latency and proportion of REM sleep out of total sleep duration (labeled "REM sleep coefficient") from Apple Watch recordings and examined their association with depressive symptoms. Methods: 191 adults wore an Apple Watch for 15 consecutive nights while a custom iOS app streamed raw accelerometry and heart-rate data. Sleep stages were scored with a neural-network model previously validated against polysomnography. REM latency and REM sleep coefficient were averaged

SUBMITTER: Stretea R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12523841 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature