Falling immediately into REM sleep when sick

[Anthemyst]

I can only take naps when I am sick; I am usually not so exhausted. However, within the past two years, every time I have been sick I fall asleep for five-to-ten minute periods, then settle into a deeper sleep. During these shorter sleep sessions, I have vivid dreams, then wake up fully concious and without any feeling of stiffness or drowseeness (Other than the fatigue one normally feels when sick)
I then fall asleep agian and do the exact same thing for up to an hour, then am able to stay asleep for an hour or more.
Though I am not studying neurology, I do know a bit about sleep, in particular how one tends to move through several stages of sleep before actually getting to REM sleep. I have not found anything relating this to general fatigue, either, which concerns me.

Thank you in advance for your help and concern!

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

REM sleep is a mechanism to relax the body. During this stage, the muscles are relaxed, blood pressure may rise a little and respiration may increase. All these things help rejuvenate the system. When you are sick, the fatigue needs to be reduced. Hence, as a natural reaction, the REM latency reduces.

Reduced REM latency, however, is an important sign of depressive disorder. Do you think you might be having depression ?

Regards

[Anthemyst]

I sincerely doubt that I am in depression; I am not tired in the day (unless I do not get my eight hours of sleep), am not feeling melancholy and I still enjoy the things that I love. However, I am sixteen and in an unusually intence academic situation.

Thank you very much for your time.
-Anthemyst.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Can you say that you have not been able to sleep "enough", taking into consideration the  academic situation ?

Do you feel you have disturbed your normal sleep wake cycle ?

Regards