This article will focus on Understanding Sleep in general terms and the importance of Deep Sleep. In short, if you sleep a normal 8 hours you’ll likely get between 20 to 40 minutes of deep sleep during that time, depending on other factors. The good news is that you can increase your time in deep sleep, which we’ll discuss later in the article. How much deep sleep you really need? Well, the key is to live a healthy lifestyle so you’re body can get the proper amount of deep sleep it requires. Nature will take care of us if we get out of the way.
If you just want to learn about deep sleep, skip ahead and go directly to our ‘deep sleep’ section.
Are you getting enough sleep at night? How do you feel when you wake up? Do you feel refreshed or groggy?
Everyone sleeps, but why? Why do we sleep? What happens when you sleep too much or too little? And how much deep sleep do you need?
Sleep is a natural biological process. But why do you need it? Well, the answer is not so simple. In fact, even scientists don’t really know why people sleep.
In this article, we’ll try to explain what sleep is, why you need it, what happens when you don’t get enough, what happens when you get too much, and how you can create a healthy sleep routine.
Let’s begin by trying to understand what sleep is.
► Sorry, this method won’t get you a good night’s sleep
What is Sleep?
“Sleep is the sore labor’s bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, chief nourisher of life’s feast.”
-William Shakespeare
While William Shakespeare’s poetic definition of sleep sounds romantic, sleep is actually described in a technical and scientific way. The Merriam-Webster definition of sleep goes as this:
“Sleep is the natural, reversible periodic phase of most living things that is punctuated by the absence of wakefulness as well as the loss of consciousness of one’s surroundings…”
Merriam Webster
According to sleep scientist and bestselling author, Matthew Paul Walker, whose work I will be mentioning a good deal in this article, “Sleep is the powerful elixir of life.”
Sleep is one of the most important biological processes that powers the mind, restores the body’s energy supply, and is responsible for fortifying every system in the body. It improves brain function, performance, and longevity.
The National Sleep Foundation advises that healthy adults between the ages of 26 to 64 need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. When individuals sleep too little or too much, it can lead to a wide range of health and cognitive problems, such as lack of concentration, difficulty in making decisions, delayed alertness, and even mood shifts.
This is why proper sleep is essential in maintaining a healthy mind and body. But sadly, most adults today are sleep deprived. With technology and progress, sleep has become less important, with many people advocating expressions like, “sleep is for the weak” or “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” which are beliefs that are purported to encourage burning the midnight oil to get things done.
But scientists have discovered that sleep actually boosts productivity and overall health and well-being. When you sleep less, you’re actually doing your body a disservice. Not only will you be less productive, you’re actually shaving off years from your life.
Matthew Walker, who I mentioned earlier, is the author of an international bestselling book called, “Why We Sleep.” He is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science.
In a TED Talk in 2019, Walker said the shorter the sleep, the shorter the life. It supports the data found in research that sleep deprivation can actually hasten mortality. And proper sleep, according to Walker, on the other hand, is our “life support system and Mother Nature’s best effort yet at immortality.”
So what happens when we sleep? And what makes us close our eyes at the end of the day? Let’s try to discuss the science of sleep and how our bodies tell us it’s time for slumber.
The Science of Sleep
Why do we sleep at night and not during the day? Sure, we take naps sometimes in the afternoon, or even sometime in the morning, but why does sleep mostly happen at night?
Well, the answer lies in our internal body clock. It regulates our sleep cycle, telling us when we feel tired and that it’s time to go to bed. It also tells us when to wake up. This internal clock operates 24/7 and is also known as the circadian rhythm.
The Circadian Rhythm —
The circadian rhythm ensures that the body’s processes are optimized throughout a 24-hour period. This internal clock exists in all types of living organisms, such as plants and other animals. For example, some plants open their flowers during the day and close it tight, to protect itself from predators.
In people, the circadian rhythm is responsible for processes such as sleep and wakefulness. It is incredibly sensitive to light, and causes several biological processes to take place in response to its exposure to certain environmental elements.
Adenosine and Melatonin
Furthermore, it is also responsible for the release of certain hormones, and in the case of sleep and wakefulness, the circadian rhythm is in charge of the sleep drive. This sleep drive is associated with the compound called adenosine. This compound is said to be released by the body throughout the day as you become more tired. When you sleep, the body breaks this down until you wake up.
In terms of exposure to light, your body can determine the difference between night and day based on light signals the brain receives. This area of the brain is called the hypothalamus. When the hypothalamus receives this message, it helps you stay awake. But when the hypothalamus receives less messages that the body is exposed to light, such as when evening begins, the body releases a hormone called melatonin.
Melatonin is a hormone that induces drowsiness, and therefore, makes you feel sleepy. Because there is less light in the evening, your body releases melatonin, making you feel tired and sleepy. Many people take a melatonin supplement to help them sleep.
This explains why turning off the lights is a simple and quick way to fall asleep. As your body receives less light exposure, your body produces more melatonin. It’s also important to note, though, that as you age, your body’s ability to produce melatonin goes down, which can also explain why older adults may find it hard to fall and stay asleep.
The circadian rhythm is also in charge of making you wake up, and exposure to light can also be attributed to this. When the sun rises in the morning, or when your body is exposed to light once again, melatonin levels drop, and in turn, cortisol levels are released. Cortisol hormones promote energy and alertness, and therefore, waking you up in the morning.
These are just a few explanations to why humans sleep and wake up, but there is more to sleeping than hormones and the circadian rhythm. As we proceed to discover more about sleep, why it happens, what it does, and what can happen when you don’t have enough sleep, you will begin to understand why sleep is actually very essential for overall health and well-being.
Overview : How much sleep do we really need?
The Benefits of Proper Sleep
Sleep is essential for overall health. We need sleep to survive. Sleep is not a luxury but a necessity – just like food, water, and shelter. In fact, we spend about a third of our lives sleeping. That’s how important sleep is.
Though a lot is still unknown in terms of the purpose of sleep, scientists do know that certain essential biological processes take place during sleep. These include restorative processes, the release of toxins, important brain activity, consolation of memory, and more.
Here are some of the most important biologically processes that take place when we sleep:
Energy Conservation
Sleep allows us to conserve energy by reducing our caloric needs during sleep. In fact, our metabolism slows down while sleeping, which explains why we can sleep for 8 straight hours without eating.
Weight Maintenance
Two hormones linked to appetite are at play when we sleep. Ghrelin is a hormone associated with increased appetite and Leptin is a hormone responsible for making us feel full after eating.
When you lack sleep, your body releases more of the hormone Ghrelin, which increases your appetite, and less of the hormone Leptin, reducing your body’s ability to feel full.
Have you ever noticed when you only have 4 to 5 hours of sleep you tend to feel hungry throughout the day? When that happens, it’s because of the changes in hunger hormones brought about by sleep deprivation.
To manage your weight in a healthy way, you need to have proper sleep so your Ghrelin and Leptin hormone levels stay in a normal range.
Cellular Restoration
Cellular restoration occurs during deep sleep, which allows cells to repair and regrow. Some of these processes include tissue growth, protein synthesis, muscle repair, and healthy hormone release.
Brain Function Process
Learning, concentration, memory, emotion processing, decision making skills, and other cognitive functions occur during sleep. When you wake up, you feel more energized and focused to tackle cognitive tasks, such as finishing tasks at work, reading, making reports, and more.
Immune Consolidation
Studies have shown that sleep helps to strengthen our immune system. When we sleep, our bodies make cytokines, which are proteins that fight off infection and inflammation. That is why when you lack sleep, you have a tendency to get sick easier.
Cytokines help to produce certain antibodies and immune cells that fight off disease and infections. With less cytokines in your body, you are more prone to getting sick because you are more susceptible to germs.
Studies conducted by Matthew Walker reveal that chronic lack of sleep can reduce the immune system’s effectiveness. This is because of a 30% drop in natural killer T cell activity, which has been known to limit the spread of microbial infections and even the spread of tumors.
Management of Insulin Function
Sleep has been known to protect versus insulin resistance, which is the cause of type 2 diabetes. Lack of sleep in diabetic patients can cause a significant increase in insulin resistance, as restorative sleep lowers unhealthy blood sugar levels by promoting healthy body systems.
Promote Heart Health
Sleep reduces the work done by your heart because as you lie down and close your eyes to fall asleep, your heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure decrease.
A trend noticed by doctors during daylight saving time, which is the practice of advancing clocks during the warmer months, shows that heart attack visits increase by 25% during this time of the year. And it’s not only limited to heart attacks but also stroke, injuries at work, and fatal car crashes.
Phones and computers automatically skip an hour during this time, which means people lose one hour of sleep. And when the clocks are turned back each fall, hospitals also notice a trend. The day after daytime light saving ends, heart attack visits drop by 21%, as people enjoy one more hour of extra slumber.
Using this data, Matthew Walker has stated that this trend goes to show how fragile and susceptible the body really is, with increases in heart attack visits partly brought about by just an hour of sleep reduction.
Now that we’ve deduced that sleep is indeed important and necessary, let’s now ask the question, so what happens when we don’t get enough sleep?
What Happens When You Don’t Have Enough Sleep?
Your testicles shrink! That’s how Matthew Walker opened his talk about the dangers of sleep deprivation in a TED Talk he delivered in 2019, which has since garnered over 6 million views.
He further went on to explain that studies reveal men who sleep less actually have smaller testicles, as well as the other dangers of not getting enough sleep.
While many people attest that they can function with very little sleep each night, they’re actually treading into very dangerous territories. This is because humans can develop sleep deprivation tolerance. They might think they’re functioning properly, but they don’t notice their blood pressure is higher than normal, they are more irritable, and that their bodies are actually accumulating toxins, suffering from immune deficiencies, and other health risks without them even realizing it.
Chronic sleep deprivation can actually lead to serious repercussions with short term effects manifesting in attention lapses, delayed reactions, mood shifts, and reduced cognition. When lack of sleep becomes long-term, it can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure levels, heart disease, stroke, and can even worsen mental health disorders.
If you’re one of the many people who are constantly sleep deprived but you’re not aware, or you think you can function well without proper sleep, here are some things you need to watch out for.
If you constantly get lower than 7 hours of sleep each night, here are some signs that you may be sleep deprived:
- Inability to concentrate
- Memory problems
- Reduces physical strength
- Frequent infections
- Drowsiness
- Feeling tired throughout the day
- Irritability
If you haven’t been sleeping at least 7 to 9 hours a day and you have some or all of these symptoms, then you are sleep deprived. Now is the time to do something about it before it’s too late.
How About Oversleeping?
Oversleeping can be just as bad to your health as sleep deprivation. In a study of 276 adults that was conducted over 6 years, individuals who frequently overslept had elevated risks for obesity compared to average-duration sleepers. Long-duration sleepers were found to be 27% more at risk for obesity.
In a meta-analysis study published in the journal, Sleep, researchers discovered that both short and long duration of sleep are significant predictors of death.
Michele Roberge, who leads a hospital-based sleep disorder center, expressed that if a person is sleeping for more than 9 hours each night, the quality of sleep must be evaluated. It could mean that, despite having more than 8 hours of sleep, a person still feels tired and that’s why there’s a need to spend more time in bed.
Other factors would need to be looked at, such as the quality of sleep, the lack of deep restorative sleep the person is getting, medical conditions, and the mental health of the individual.
Age and Sleep: How Much Do You Need?
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that healthy adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Newborns, toddlers, school age kids, and teens have different sleep needs due to their need for growth and development.
So how was this sleep recommendation created? An expert panel of 18 professionals from different fields of science and medicine was created. This panel reviewed hundreds of research studies about sleep duration and health outcomes that included cardiovascular health, diabetes, pain, and depression. They studied validated studies for over 9 months and concluded that 7 to 9 hours is the most ideal range needed by healthy adults.
Other organizations that support this recommendation include the Sleep Research Society (SRS) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
They also created recommendations for different age groups. And this is why they came up with:
- Newborns = Age 0 to 3 months = 14 to 17 hours o sleep
- Infants = Age 4 months to 11 months = 12 to 15 hours of sleep
- Toddlers = Age 1 to 2 years old = 11 to 14 hours of sleep
- Preschool Age = Age 3 to 5 years old = 10 to 13 hours of sleep
- School Age = 6 to 13 years old = to 11 hours of sleep
- Teens = 14 to 17 years old = 8 to 10 hours of sleep
- Young Adults = 18 to 25 years old = 7 to 9 hours of sleep
- Adults = 26 to 64 years old = 7 to 9 hours of sleep
- Older Adults = 64 up = 7 to 8 hours of sleep
As seen from these recommendations, the duration of sleep falls as an individual develops into adulthood. The older you are, the less hours of sleep you need as compared to children.
Do You Really Need 8 Hours of Sleep?
You hear it everywhere, you need to have at least 8 hours of sleep to be able to enjoy the benefits of sleeping. Any more or less than 8 hours can be detrimental to your health.
But is this really true? Is 8 hours of sleep really what the body needs? According to come sleep experts, not really.
Chelsie Rohrschien, a neuroscientist, states that the exact length of time a person needs for sleeping is highly dictated by his or her genes. There are actually people who are short sleepers, who only need 7 hours of sleep, and long sleepers, who need at least 9 hours of sleep.
Her statement is actually supported by data. In 2019, scientists discovered a “short-sleep gene.” This gene was found in people who naturally sleep less than 6.5 hours of sleep each night without any apparent negative effects on their mental and psychical health. The report was published in the National Institute of Health, and confirmed that sleep needs are indeed highly individualistic and influenced by genetics.
Another view of 8 hours as the recommended hours of sleep is expressed by Hailey Meaklin, who is a psychologist. She mentioned that the concept of 8 hours of sleep actually came about during the industrial revolution. The concept of 8 hours came about as a standard in school and work schedules: 8 hours of work or school, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of sleep.
According to Meaklin, factors to how much sleep an individual needs must be considered. These factors include genetics, medical conditions, age, and the individual environment.
Additionally, Annie Miller, a therapist at DC Metro Sleep and Psychotherapy, stated that people shouldn’t feel a pressure to fulfill the numbers. She states that the need for 8 hours of sleep is like water recommendations, which is drinking 8 glasses of water everyday. No one really knows exactly how much sleep a person needs, and that there is no single best tip to how much sleep one should have.
Ultimately. Miller states that the most important thing to consider is how you feel when you wake up. If you sleep for 8 hours but you feel tired and fatigued, then there may be other reasons why you’re feeling that way. If you only slept 6 hours but you feel refreshed, then the amount of sleep you had may have involved more of the restorative kind of sleep, and that can be okay.
Speaking of restorative sleep, does that mean that sleeping alone is not restorative? Unfortunately, the answer to this is yes. Just because you’ve fallen asleep and you’ve been sleeping for 8 hours or more, it doesn’t mean that you actually experienced a good night’s rest.
Restorative sleep happens during deep sleep, which is only one part of a sleep cycle you go through each night.
By understanding deep sleep, you can understand why oversleeping may not be such a good idea. It can also explain why, even if you’ve slept a good 8 hours each night, you still feel sleepy during the day.
How Much Deep Sleep Do You Need?
Proper sleep is not just about the quantity of sleep that you have, but the quality of sleep that you get. A lot of people may say that they do get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night but when they wake up, they still feel sleepy and tired.
While you may have had an average of 8 hours of sleep, if you still feel sleepy when you wake up, you may not have experienced the right amount of restorative sleep your body needs to have each night.
Restorative sleep occurs in deep sleep, or also known as stage 3 of the sleep cycle. It is the stage when your mind and body recuperate, and gives you the deepest form or rest possible.
It is estimated that 13% to 23% of a person’s sleep is composed of deep sleep, and in an 8-hour sleep duration, that’s about 90 minutes of deep, restorative sleep, which is how much you need to get a good night’s rest. Any lower than this and you’ll wake up feeling tired and sleepy all day.
That is why you shouldn’t go for just 7 to hours of sleep, but you should go for a good sleep with enough deep sleep for a truly beneficial night of slumber.
To help you understand what deep sleep is, let’s take a look at the 4 stages of sleep and how they cycle throughout the night. These stages are separated between REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and Non-REM Sleep.
4 stages of sleep :
— Non-REM Sleep
Stage 1: Light Sleep
Stage 1 or light sleep takes about 7 to 15 minutes to occur after you lie down in bed. Your muscles relax, your heart starts to slow down, as well as your heart rate. This is the stage that involves transitioning between wakefulness and sleep. You are still easily awakened during light sleep.
Stage 2: Transition Between Light Sleep to Deep Sleep
This is the longest stage of Non-REM sleep. You are now transitioning between light sleep to deep sleep. Your muscles relax even more, and your heartbeat and breathing slow down, and your body temperature goes down as well. Eye movements stop in stage 2.
Stage 3: Deep Sleep
This is the stage of sleep that you want to get into. This is deep sleep, also known as restorative sleep. Your muscles are now incredibly relaxed, your heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure are at their lowest, and you’re very hard to awaken at this stage.
Deep sleep in one cycle takes about 20 minutes.
REM Sleep —
Stage 4: REM Sleep
REM sleep occurs about 90 minutes after light sleep. Your heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure begin to rise, but your muscles are still relaxed. Your arms and limbs are paralyzed, and your eyes begin to move back and forth rapidly.
REM sleep is where dreams occur, and it is the stage of sleeping that is most likened to being awake. Scientists believe your arms and legs are paralyzed during REM sleep to prevent you from acting out your dreams.
Each sleep cycle runs for about 90 to 120 minutes, and for an 8-hour sleep duration, you’ll go through 4 cycles of sleep.
Most people who wake up at 3 am believe that there must be some supernatural reasons for this, but the truth is, 3 am is one of the hours where most people transition from one sleep cycle to another, which explains why you are easily awakened at these hours of dawn.
You just notice it more because of all the fuss about waking up at 3am, when in fact, a lot of people also wake up at 1 am, or 2 am, and other hours of the night.
It must be noted that if you wake up during deep sleep, you will feel very groggy because your restorative processes are disrupted. If you feel very sleepy when you wake up in the middle of the night, get back to sleep so you can start another sleep cycle.
Why Deep Sleep Matters —
Deep sleep is also known as slow wave sleep. It’s called such because it is the stage of sleep associated with the slowest brain waves, which is the delta wave. Delta waves are associated with the deepest form of restorative sleep, as well as relaxation. It also promises the production of melatonin, which further brings the brain into its most relaxed state.
An EEG (electroencephalograph) demonstrates delta waves when a person is going through deep sleep. The brain functions that occur during this stage of sleep include consolidation of memories, restoration of the mind and body, as well as to repair the brain from the day’s activeness. In short, deep sleep is when the brain refreshes and rejuvenates itself.
Growth hormones are also released during deep sleep as substances ingested during the day are synthesized into proteins, bringing about their benefits into the body. Growth hormones facilitate healing of the muscles, as well as repairing the damages of tissues in the body.
Furthermore, children get more deep sleep than adults, and the quantity of deep sleep lowers as we age. Aside from age, other factors can also lead to the decline of deep sleep quantity in adults. Some of these include sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, as well as substance abuse, alcohol use, and even caffeine.
How To Increase Deep Sleep —
Scientists agree that to have more deep sleep, you just need to get more sleep so your body can experience the different stages to achieve stage 3 of a typical cycle.
If you always wake up feeling tired, or you’re sleepy throughout the day, you might have a lack of quality deep sleep. Don’t worry though, as many people around the world don’t really get the quality of sleep they need for optimal health.
While the older you get the less deep sleep you may have, it doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it. The good news is that you can change your sleeping habits to boost the quality of sleep you can have each night.
There are many simple things that you can do each night to promote better sleep, and subsequently, better health.
I’ve gathered a few tips and tricks to help you sleep better, and more importantly, help you get the quantity of deep sleep your body needs.
Regularity
According to Matthew Walker, one of the key ways to enjoy better sleep is regularity. He said that sleeping at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning, regardless if it’s a weekday or weekend, is one of the best ways to improve your sleep patterns.
Having a regular routine anchors your sleep and regulates your circadian rhythm. Try to sleep at the same time each night and set your alarm to 8 hours after. This can be your way of training your body to sleep for at least 8 hours everyday.
Walker does not recommend sleep aids or supplements because these do not promote the natural ability of the body to regulate its internal clock. You may even get dependent on these sleep aids, making it hard for you to sleep without them.
It may be hard to get started on having a regular sleep routine but once your circadian rhythm adjusts to your new healthy schedule, it will become so easy for you to fall and stay asleep and get that recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.
Keep Your Bedroom Cool
A cool environment is conducive for sleeping. Matthew Walker suggests keeping the room at a temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the most ideal to promote sleep.
According to experts, a cold environment can make you feel drowsy. Cold temperatures make your body’s temperature fall, which is a requirement for light sleep to begin. By reducing your body temperature by about 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit, the cold temperature in the room will initiate sleep and help you stay asleep.
Make the Bedroom a Sleep Sanctuary
If you’re tossing and turning and can’t sleep, Matthew Walker suggests you get up and do something else in another room. This is because your body must associate your bedroom or your bed to sleeping.
If you’re tossing and turning, your body will associate your bed as a place where you toss and turn, and not to sleep. And, if you get up and watch TV or do something else inside your room, your body is associating your room with activity, rather than a place of rest.
Make your room a sleep sanctuary so your body will associate the environment to the act of sleeping. If you have a TV in your room, it might be time to remove it. If you have your laptop in your room, it might be a good idea to keep it in another area of your home so you are not tempted to do some work.
Create a sleep sanctuary in your bedroom where the only thing you’ll be doing in bed is sleep. Your body will eventually associate your bed and your room to sleeping, helping you sleep faster.
Exercise During the Day
Some research supports that exercise can help you sleep better, especially leading to more deep sleep. Scientists don’t really know the mechanism as to how this happens but they do know that exercising before bedtime or a couple of hours before bed keeps you up at night.
Aerobic exercises such as jogging, running, and swimming are recommended by some sleep specialists and these activities must be done for at least 30 minutes in the morning or in the afternoon and not at night.
This is because exercising a couple of hours before bedtime can actually keep you awake. The release of endorphins during exercise is actually stimulating and exercise also increases your body temperature. Remember that your body temperature must fall at 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit in order for light sleep to start.
Engage in aerobic exercises early in the day, 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes to help you sleep better, as well as induce more deep sleep.
Avoid Caffeine and Alcohol
While it’s common knowledge that caffeine can keep you up at night, alcohol is also just as bad. Many people use alcohol to fall asleep, but did you know that it can actually disrupt your sleep patterns by making it hard for you to stay asleep?
While alcohol can make you feel drowsy and help you fall asleep faster, the liver enzymes that metabolize alcohol will actually continue to process alcohol levels in the bloodstream as you sleep. Once alcohol levels in your bloodstream go down, you will experience sleep disruption, which means you’ll be waking up at night, reducing your overall sleep quality.
Take a Warm Bath
I mentioned earlier that a cold room can make you lower your body temperature but a warm bath can do that as well. Take a good warm bath at least 30 minutes an hour before bedtime to lower your body’s temperature and help you sleep faster and deeper.
Staying in a sauna or using a weighted blanket can also give the same effect as a warm bath.
Listen to Pink Noise
This is typically useful for those who live in a city where you can hear cars honking and sirens wailing all night. Pink noise is characterized by calming sounds from nature such as rainfall, or waves crashing.
It’s a constant sound in the background and filters out other sounds that are distracting. Also known as ambient noise, pink noise is soothing and calming, helping you sleep better and helping you stay asleep for longer, and therefore, improving your quality of sleep.
Here are more helpful tips to help you sleep better:
- Eating a light dinner rather than a heavy one, so your digestive system works less before you sleep.
- Eating more fiber has been confirmed to be associated with more time spent in deep sleep. Eat high fiber foods such as apples, avocados, beans, whole grains, broccoli, and other fibrous food for deeper sleep at night.
- Placing your phone and other devices in another room when you lie down is also a great idea, preventing you from scrolling you through your phone while in bed.
- Eating a banana before you sleep can also help, as Vitamin B6 in the fruit can help convert amino acids to serotonin, which controls melatonin levels in the body. Drinking milk als has the same effect as it has the same amino acid as bananas, which is tryptophan.
- Avoid long naps during the day as this can confuse your circadian rhythm. Short, 30-minute naps are beneficial but any longer than that can make it harder for you to fall and stay asleep at night.
Final Thoughts on Sleep
For a lot of people, 24 hours in a day doesn’t seem to be enough to be able to fulfill important tasks and responsibilities. Because of a fast-paced life, and the need to be productive at all times, people have placed rest and sleep on the back burner of their priorities. But, this is actually counterproductive. The less rest and sleep you get, the less energy and focus you’ll actually have to perform at your optimal capacity.
Sleep is essential, just like drinking water or eating food. But it’s not just the quantity of sleep that’s important, but the quality of sleep is even more necessary. You may be able to sleep 7 to 9 hours a night, but still feel tired and sleepy when you wake up.
But, if you have great quality sleep, which is brought about by deep sleep, then you’ll feel alert, focused, and refreshed as soon as you open your eyes in the morning
So how much deep sleep do you need? A good 90 minutes of deep sleep each night is key to longevity, optimal immune health, physical healing, and brain function consolidation.
And if you have trouble falling and staying asleep, refer to our tips to getting deeper sleep so you can enjoy better quality slumber each night, and harness the power of sleep for a life of overall health and well-being.
