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In a generation where assignments never end, the client never lets you enjoy your dinner, and parents can’t stop complaining, getting good sleep can be a difficult job. Were you wondering how to get deep sleep? This post discusses everything you need to know, from getting a deep sleep to managing your sleep schedule1 at best.
From skipping your breakfast to pulling an all-nighter, terrible sleep can greatly impact your lifestyle. The new age of technology, uncertainty around pandemics, the stress of work, and never-ending assignments, are just some of the factors responsible for your terrible sleeping habits.2
One can notice the potential downfalls of sleeping late and having a bad quality of sleep. If you sleep at 3 am and still manage to stay up till 6, tossing and turning sides into the bed, you are as gen-z as they come. Your body indeed needs only 7-8 hours of sleep, but that sleep quality is imperative for a good and healthy lifestyle.
Imagine waking up all fresh, energetic, and ready to accomplish anything and everything. If you want that kind of sleep, it’s time to understand the science behind deep sleep and do your best to achieve it.
Deep sleep, also known as slow-wave, delta, and non-REM sleep, is the stage in the sleep cycle where your body recovers from daily activities, workload, and injuries.
An average adult sleeping for 7-8 hours a day can only expect 10-15% of it in delta sleep. Lack of deep sleep can potentially impact your health. This post discusses how to get deep sleep and all the possible causes and solutions for a good night’s rest3.
1. Science Behind Sleep And Brain Basics
When you are thinking of quality sleep, thinking of how many hours of sleep you need, how to get deep sleep, and whether the time spent sleeping did any restorative functioning or not is crucial. The only formula to get sincere high-quality sleep is via progressing multiple times in your sleep cycle. Each stage is important as it allows your brain and immune system to function well.
Throughout your entire sleep, four individual stages progress throughout your nightly sleep. The sleep architecture is divided into four stages: one stage is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and three other stages are non-REM (NREM) sleep:
- Stage 1 is NREM which lasts for 1-5 minutes
- Stage 2 is NREM which lasts about 10-60 minutes
- The next stage, i.e., Stage 3, is also NREM but deep sleep, which lasts about 20-40minutes
- Lastly, stage 4 is REM which lasts for 10-60 minutes.
Stage 3 sleep is Deep sleep, also known as slow wave sleep and delta sleep. In this stage, toxins are flushed out from the cerebrospinal fluid4, the immune system recovers, and human growth hormones are released.
The brain, at this stage, produces slow brain waves, which are also called delta waves, hence the name. Slow brain waves are relatively high amplitude and low-frequency waves responsible for letting your body relax.
It’s harder to wake someone up from this phase. Also, the muscle tone, breathing rate, and pulse decline from the normal rate as the body loosens up and relaxes. It is backed by scientists and researchers worldwide that this stage is critical to therapeutic sleep, allowing the body for restorative recovery and elevated growth.
Not only bodily recovery, but this stage is also responsible for enhancing out-of-box thinking capabilities, perceptive reasoning, vision, and memory.
Wondering how much time an average adult’s body spends in deep sleep? The N3 stage lasts for 20-40 minutes. Also, deep sleep occurs during the first half of the night.
Many factors influence sleep stages, i.e., age, sleep pattern, alcohol, and sleep disorders like RLS, insomnia, sleep apnea, and much more. Adults spend less time in deep sleep than children. As one gets older, the duration of deep sleep throughout the night also decreases.
2. Top 6 Benefits Of Deep Sleep
Deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep, is an essential stage of the sleep cycle that provides numerous benefits for both physical and mental well-being. Here are some of the top benefits of getting more deep sleep5:
2.1. Improved Memory And Learning
During deep sleep, the brain consolidates and processes information from the day, making it easier to remember and learn new things.
2.2. Boosted Immune System
Deep sleep is linked to the production of immune cells, helping to fight off infection and illness.
2.3. Reduced Inflammation
Slow-wave sleep is associated with decreased inflammation in the body, which may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
2.4. Better Physical Recovery
Deep sleep is essential for repairing and restoring the body, including muscle growth and repair, hormone regulation, and cell growth.
2.5. Increased Mood And Emotional Stability
Deep sleep is linked to the regulation of emotions and mood, helping to reduce stress and anxiety.
2.6. Improved Cardiovascular Health
Deep sleep is associated with lower blood pressure and heart rate, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
If you’re having trouble falling asleep or getting enough deep sleep, there are several things you can try to improve your sleep quality. These include sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, avoiding stimulating activities before bedtime, and creating a comfortable and relaxing sleep environment.
Additionally, making sure you get enough exercise during the day and avoid caffeine or heavy meals close to bedtime can help promote deep sleep.
3. How To Get Deep Sleep
Undoubtedly, getting good quality sleep for the generation that is overburdened and depressed is an arduous task. However, good habits that help your body and mind to calm down will help you attain good quality sleep while increasing the amount of deep sleep.
Some of the top 8 tips and tricks on how to get deep sleep are-
3.1. Is Screen Time Before Bed Your Daily Habit?
A smartphone is a vital part of our lives; it probably sleeps right next to you like your girlfriend, under the pillow or on the side table, maybe? Considering technology, the biggest slice of the cake is the ease of accessibility and connectedness.
Gen-Z cannot sleep without texting a last goodbye to their significant other, watching one last YouTube video, or listening to one last stress buster music. However, using a smartphone at night just before sleep impacts your sleep and health drastically.
Not only does checking your phone during the night psychologically engage your brain and delay sleep, but it also restrains melatonin.
The blue light emitted from smartphones is often correlated with daylight. Result? Delay in sleep. Blue light is also responsible for suppressed melatonin levels, a hormone responsible for governing your sleep-wake cycle.
3.2. Workout And Quality Sleep Are Best Friends
Gone are when people used to work out for a sexy physique. Now is the generation where people work out for a healthy lifestyle, balance, and boost energy and mood. Exercising for about 30-40 minutes every day can induce better deep sleep, boosts heart rate, and promotes better muscle functioning.
If you seek an answer to how to get deep sleep, start with workouts! It is backed by science that people who work out daily tend to sleep faster than people who don’t work out at all. This is because workouts and exercises can reduce the time to fall asleep, i.e., sleep onset.
Undoubtedly, a good vigorous workout session makes you more tired and helps you sleep better. But remember to induce sleep, don’t get involved in intense workout sessions before bed, as it stimulates the nervous system, elevates heart rates, interrupts sleep, and makes it hard to fall asleep faster.
Thanks to the internet, tons of resources are available online, free and affordable. Moderate to rigorous workouts will boost your metabolism, maintain body temperature, and stimulate good hormones.
Morning workouts, mild exercise sessions like Zumba and aerobics, engaging in some stretching, going dog-walking, and participating in meditation or yoga can impact your sleeping habits drastically.
3.3. Diet And Discipline
What you eat, what you drink, and in what portions play a crucial role in experiencing deep sleep.
Some dos and don’ts to consider in the diet domain for better deep sleep are listed below:
- To avoid acid reflux, plan your dinner three hours before bed.
- Eat frequent yet smaller meals throughout the day. This will prevent nighttime hunger calls responsible for interrupted sleep.
- Soft drinks, energy drinks, and coffee before bed act as stimulants and prevent sleep.
- More water intake can help you in a lot of ways. But reducing water intake 2 hours before bed seems to be a good idea as this will suppress your urge to urinate frequently.
- Alcohol consumption before bed can prevent deep sleep and keep you awake till late. So, consuming alcohol at night is a big no.
- Incorporate a high intake of fiber in your daily nutrition. Fiber is directly linked with enhancing the amount of time spent in deep sleep. One can toss an avocado sandwich during lunch, some fried beans, broccoli for dinner, and apple juice in the morning to boost fiber intake in your diet.
3.4. Set A Good Bedtime Environment
The sleeping atmosphere and the bedroom environment is the most crucial aspect of sleep quality. Convert your bedroom to a sleep sanctuary and restrict it for sleep and sex purposes only.
Bright light, loud noise, and temperature are some of the factors that can influence your sleep. One can use thick curtains to soundproof your bedroom from daily traffic and construction noise.
Other checklist things to consider before going to bed are:
- Use an eye mask or blindfold to block light.
- Blackout shades for windows with excessive bright light
- Cool and comfortable temperature, i.e., between 60 and 75 F
- A well-ventilated room equipped with comfortable mattresses and pillows
- Change your pillow covers and bedsheets on alternate days
On top of this, creating a consistent and efficient bedtime routine is imperative. Stress from work, the anxiety of late submissions, or depression about a recent heartbreak, it is crucial to shut off these thoughts, calm your mind and prepare for a good sleep.
3.5. Aromatherapy
3.5.1. Essential Oils
The most important ingredient to catch a deep sleep recipe is essential oil. Essential oils with a good aroma and scented candles work wonders. Using essential oils like lavender and sage releases stress of the day eases your mind, and encourages serene feelings.
3.5.2. Scented Candles
Scented candles are yet another efficient way to try aromatherapy. If you are one of those that keeps tossing in bed, thinking of ways how to get deep sleep and end up staying awake till 5 in the morning, it’s time to buy some aesthetic scented candles.
It has a favorable impact on your sleep quality, evokes a sense of comfort, and creates a soothing sensation. Result? Reduced sleep-off set time and Better deep sleep duration.
3.6. No Clock During The Night
Continuously focusing on the clock during the night, the sound or the pace of minutes hand and hours hand can affect your sleep by inducing stress, wandering thoughts, and a puzzled state of mind.
To attain maximum deep sleep duration, you mustn’t check the time again and again. If you get up and can’t help but think about how to get deep sleep, time for reading! Get your hands on any novel, and it could be boring or interesting. Up to you! Read it when you can’t sleep and return to bed when your eyelids start drooping.
Still, wondering how to get deep sleep? Feeling sleepy at noon? Do activities that boost your mood. Call a friend, wash the dishes, tidy the house, get clothes ironed, and don’t nap at noon. Fight the drowsiness for the better.
3.7. Small Lifestyle Changes
Do you have difficulty sleeping at night? Energetic during the night, tired during the day? The main criminal behind your delayed sleep could be your afternoon nap initially planned for an hour or so but eventually lasts for 3-4 hours. If you are up to improving your deep sleep time, avoid napping during the day as it can delay sleep at night.
Your bedroom is only for sleep and sex. Therefore, avoid engaging in late-night television. Yes, the mother-in-law is wicked, and that teenage girl will not die due to heartbreak! Skip your daily dose of tv series and gossip. Instead, listen to podcasts, read audiobooks, and listen to music, but reduce the screen time as it can suppress melatonin, delaying sleep.
3.8. Synchronize Your Internal Body Clock
We live in a generation where insomnia, aversion to sleep, staying up till 4:20, and being anxious during the night are common. While trying to sleep, the tiniest of inconveniences can cause you difficulty maintaining your sleep. Let’s dive into some science now!
Thus, one can incorporate good sleeping habits, be consistent and synchronize the biological clock with a schedule. To establish a healthier sleeping schedule and synchronize it will your internal clock, one can-
Rely on alarm -Be consistent about your sleeping time, set the alarm, go to bed simultaneously even if you can’t sleep, lay in bed, and get up at the same time daily. Time to be consistent and improve deep sleep for my readers who love to play the snooze alarm game!
Remember to achieve deep sleep, and it’s time you take the mantra of “Early to bed, early to rise” quite seriously.
4. Deep Sleep And The Immune System
One of the most important benefits of deep sleep is its impact on the immune system. Let us see the relationship between deep sleep and the immune system 6and discuss how deep sleep is necessary to boost your immune system.
The human growth hormone (HGH) is a hormone that is produced during deep sleep and plays a crucial role in the immune system. HGH is responsible for promoting cell growth, repairing damaged tissues, and boosting the immune system7. During deep sleep, the body produces more HGH, which helps to repair and restore the body.
Sleep medicine experts have long known that sleep is essential for maintaining a healthy immune system. Studies have shown that people who get enough deep sleep have a stronger immune system and are less likely to get sick. In contrast, sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality can lead to a weakened immune system, making you more susceptible to infection and illness.
The sleep cycle is divided into two main stages: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. NREM sleep is further divided into three stages: stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3. Stage 3, also known as deep sleep, is the most restorative stage of the sleep cycle. During deep sleep, the body produces more HGH and repairs and restores the body.
REM sleep is the stage of sleep during which most dreaming occurs. Although REM sleep is important for the brain, it is not as restorative for the body as deep sleep. People who have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep often have trouble reaching the deep sleep stage, which can lead to sleep deprivation and a weakened immune system.
There are several factors that can affect deep sleep and the immune system. One of the most important is high blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to sleep apnea, a condition in which a person stops breathing during sleep. Sleep apnea can disrupt deep sleep and lead to a weakened immune system.
Another factor that can affect deep sleep and the immune system is a poor diet. A diet that is high in sugar and processed foods can lead to weight gain and increase the risk of sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. A healthy diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help improve sleep quality and boost the immune system.
Body temperature also plays a role in deep sleep and the immune system. The body’s temperature drops during deep sleep, which helps to promote sleep. However, if the bedroom is too warm or too cold, it can make it difficult to fall asleep and disrupt deep sleep.
In addition to these factors, sleep time also plays a crucial role in deep sleep and the immune system. Adults should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night to ensure that they are getting enough deep sleep to boost the immune system.
5. Conclusion
Searching the internet for how to get deep sleep? Ever thought of analyzing how much deep sleep you get? Setting a healthy and attainable sleeping schedule is understanding your position.
If you wake up feeling exhausted, get irritated quickly in the morning, or get up with a headache, you are not getting deep sleep. Thanks to technology, many IoT devices today track your body movements, pulse, and heart rate to determine your sleep quality. However, they are not reliable as you think.
If you want to get your sleep quality diagnosed, visit your doctor and get polysomnography done. This test will provide a comprehensive report to measure your breathing rate, heart rate, brain waves, body movements, oxygen levels, and muscle tone.
Result? Your doctor can analyze this information to determine your sleeping stages throughout the night and offer valuable insights on how to get deep sleep.
Eat well, get adequate sleep, exercise, and enjoy the sun in the morning with a healthy smoothie! All of these factors will push your body for a maintained sleep cycle and help induce enough deep sleep. This way, one will get more deep sleep as possible.
Now that you are well acquainted with how to get deep sleep, it’s time to set a schedule and buy scented candles, some boring yet tolerable novels, and dim lights for your bedroom.
FAQs
1. How do I sleep peacefully with no dreams overnight?
A. Dreaming is a normal part of the sleep process and is considered to be an important aspect of the sleep cycle. Dreams can occur during any stage of sleep, but they are most vivid during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage. It is not possible to control the content or frequency of your dreams and it’s not clear if there is a way to prevent them.
2. What is deep sleep, and why is it important?
A: Deep sleep is the stage of sleep characterized by slow brain waves and complete relaxation of the body. It is also known as slow-wave sleep (SWS). Deep sleep is essential for physical and mental restoration, memory consolidation, and overall well-being.
3. How much deep sleep do I need each night?
A: The amount of deep sleep needed varies from person to person, but generally, adults should aim for around 20-25% of their total sleep time to be spent in deep sleep. This translates to about 1.5 to 2 hours of deep sleep for an average of 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
Read more
- Coveney, Catherine M. “Managing sleep and wakefulness in a 24‐hour world.” Sociology of health & illness 36.1 (2014): 123-136. ↩︎
- Zuckerman, Barry, James Stevenson, and Veira Bailey. “Sleep problems in early childhood: continuities, predictive factors, and behavioral correlates.” Pediatrics 80.5 (1987): 664-671. ↩︎
- Johnson, Dave. “A good night’s sleep: Three strategies to rest, relax and restore energy.” Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice 30 (2023): 100591. ↩︎
- Sakka, Laurent, Guillaume Coll, and Jean Chazal. “Anatomy and physiology of cerebrospinal fluid.” European annals of otorhinolaryngology, head and neck diseases 128.6 (2011): 309-316. ↩︎
- Solomon, Carrie. “Health Benefits of Sleep: WHY IS Getting Enough Rest SO IMPORTANT.” Alternative Medicine 66 (2022): 26-29. ↩︎
- Gamaldo, Charlene E., Annum K. Shaikh, and Justin C. McArthur. “The sleep-immunity relationship.” Neurologic clinics 30.4 (2012): 1313-1343. ↩︎
- Alagawany, Mahmoud, et al. “The strategy of boosting the immune system under the COVID-19 pandemic.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7 (2021): 570748. ↩︎
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