Baby Sleeping
Sleep is essential for fat loss, energy, immune function, and overall health. Those who have read my blog know how important sleep is to my health and the health of my clients. As a result, I've written extensively on the subject (see all of my articles HERE), including my book The Ultimate Guide To Deeper Sleep, and I even have a sleep course.
What about deep sleep, though? What if you've taken advantage of all the low-hanging fruit in terms of sleep optimization, but you're still waking up tired in the morning?
What Is Deep Sleep, Exactly?
Slow-wave sleep, or SWS for short, is the scientific term for deep sleep. SWS is a type of non-rapid eye movement sleep in which the frequency of the brain's waves slows.
In a deep sleep state, the brain wave frequency is around 0.5 Hz to 2.0 Hz, and the waves produced at this frequency are known as delta waves.
During the day, the brain generates brain waves with a much higher frequency in the beta range.
During the night, the brain cycles through various stages of sleep, with more time spent in slow-wave delta sleep each cycle during the first half of the night. The duration of rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) increases in the second half of the night.
When we are deep asleep, our bodies have a high arousal threshold, which means we are less likely to wake up. The body is in a state of physical paralysis, with the exception of life-critical functions. Waking up in this stage of sleep is difficult, and if we do, we are extremely groggy.
Why Is Deep Sleep So Important, and How Much Do We Require?
In a nutshell, deep sleep is required for rest and restoration on both a physical and mental level. You won't get the full benefits of sleep if you don't get enough deep sleep. You also feel fatigued when you wake up in the morning.
How much restful sleep is required? Deep sleep typically accounts for 0–35 per cent of total sleep time. The average adult spends 10–25% of their sleep time in deep sleep.
The percentage changes according to your daily activity, food, health, and how well you slept the night before.
How to Get More Restful Sleep -
1. It's pointless to try to improve your deep sleep with supplements or hacks if your sleep hygiene is poor. What exactly do I mean by sleep basics'? Building a sleep routine, improving your sleep environment, prioritising sleep, adhering to light cycles, and eating a healthy diet are all examples.
2. Even if you have a good nighttime routine, a perfect diet, and all the fancy gadgets and supplements, if you are stressed before bed, you will not get a good night's sleep. Pre-sleep nighttime stress is associated with lower SWS once asleep. Don't expect falling asleep to simply wash away the stress; the damage has already been done.
3. High temperatures are my second most common cause of insufficient deep sleep, after stress. In fact, I moved countries because I couldn't stand the hot and humid summers in Sydney, though that wasn't the only reason. I'm not the only one who has trouble sleeping when the temperature rises. According to research, the ideal room temperature for sleeping is 15.5–20 C (60–68F).
4. To improve your deep sleep, you need to treat three vitamin inadequacies. Vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin D3 are the three vitamins. Vitamin A and B6 should not be a problem if you consume a well-balanced diet that includes quality meats, broth, organic veggies, and liver. And you should be fine in terms of vitamin D if you get lots of sun (without sunscreen).
5. This is self-evident and fits under point one. Consider avoiding caffeine during the day if you want to improve the quantity of deep sleep you get each night. Caffeine should be consumed first thing in the morning if you must have it. Caffeine's half-life is quite long. This means that the caffeine from that cup of coffee you consumed at 3 p.m. will still be processed by your body later that evening. Caffeine is also metabolised at various rates by different persons.
6. A sluggish thyroid does not promote restful sleep (or quality health). In fact, a fast metabolism (as indicated by a high morning body temperature) will allow you to sleep deeper at night. Hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone levels) is a major cause of low metabolism, and it is associated with sleep disruption and less slow-wave sleep. Thyroid hormone levels were adequate in test subjects with normal or even higher-than-normal thyroid levels to sustain an extended period of deep sleep.
7. Avoid Eating Large Meals Before Bedtime
8. Avoid training at night.
9. Change your bedtime routine.
There you have it, a plethora of useful tips and tricks! As I mentioned at the outset, these strategies are for those who have exhausted all of the low-hanging fruit in terms of increasing sleep.
