Fitness trackers find new symptom of depression -- body temperature

This means that while other people go through natural temperature cycles throughout the day and over time, people experiencing depression were not, and found it harder to self-cool their bodies, according to the study.

It could be a way in for non-pharmaceutical treatment.

“Ironically, heating people up actually can lead to rebound body temperature lowering that lasts longer than simply cooling people down directly, as through an ice bath,” lead author Ashley Mason said in a news release. “What is we can track the body temperature of people with depression to time heat-based treatments well?”

Mason said there is an existing small body of research that suggests putting people in hot tubs or saunas can trigger the body to self-cool, causing them to sweat. If thermoregulation is a symptom of depression, as the Oura Ring study suggests, temperature treatment could be an effective way to treat depression.

“To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date to examine the association between body temperature — assessed using both self-report methods and wearable sensors — and depressive symptoms in a geographically broad sample,” Mason said. “Given the climbing rates of depression in the United States, we’re excited by the possibilities of a new avenue of treatment.”

The rising popularity of fitness trackers may also help more people identify symptoms of depression.

About one in five adults wore a fitness tracker, either as a band or smartwatch, in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center.

Oura, the company that developed the Oura Ring, reports more than 1 million people use their ring to track their sleep, blood oxygen levels, heart rate during workouts, and even their levels of stress, according to the website.

Many Americans also support companies using data from fitness trackers for medical research, the Pew Research Center found.

About 40% of adults in the U.S. said they would support data being used from their fitness tracker if it was being used for heart disease research, for example.

With increased use of fitness trackers and large-scale research studies analyzing the data, people across the globe may be able to play a part in solving medicine’s mysteries.