When people are depressed, they wake in the morning feeling exhausted, fuzzy headed and maybe dreading the day. They press the snooze button on the alarm and postpone getting started for as long as they can.
Eventually, most people do rise and begin their day. It is a mistake to think that depressed people stay in bed all day: most people do eventually get out of bed and proceed through the day.
As the clock gets closer to bedtime, depressed people begin to experience some relief because they look forward to going to sleep and escaping from their thoughts and feelings. They tend to fall asleep fairly easily but they wake in the middle of the night. They may jolt awake or find themselves tossing and turning until they are awake.
Waking during the night is a distinctive characteristic of depression. During this time people worry about things, become self critical, maybe have feelings of hopelessness. Sleep is not restful and they wake in the morning feeling poorly, maybe even with aches and pains.
