How to Get More Deep Sleep

Deep sleep, or slow-wave sleep, is the kind that helps you wake up feeling recharged. You may be able to get more deep sleep by:

• Adjusting the time you go to bed
• Maintaining a set sleep schedule once you do
• Making changes to your habits and environment
• Using prescription treatments as recommended by your healthcare provider

This article reviews how to sleep deeper at night and why getting more deep sleep can benefit your overall physical and mental health.

What Is Deep Sleep?

Sleeping deep means getting more slow-wave sleep. This name comes from the slow brain waves, called delta waves, that the brain produces during this point in the sleep cycle.

Slow-wave sleep is the deepest sleep stage. It is also called NREM Stage 3 sleep. This stage happens more in the first third of the night. It is very hard to wake someone when they are in the deep stage of sleep.

How to Sleep Deeper

There are several reasons that you might not be getting enough deep sleep.

• Weakened sleep drive: Taking naps or spending too much time in bed can weaken your sleep drive. You may lose some of your ability to sleep normally, and as a result, you may get less deep sleep.
• Sleep disorders: Some sleep disorders can affect your ability to sleep deeper at night. For example, people with sleep apnea frequently stop breathing while they are sleeping and people with periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS) involuntarily move their legs while asleep. These disruptions can reduce deep sleep, but effectively treating them will help normalize sleep.
• Substance use and medications: Caffeine, benzodiazepines, alcohol, and opioid pain medications can all affect deep sleep. Caffeine (e.g., in a cup of coffee or tea) is a stimulant that can reduce deep sleep even hours after you consume it. Benzodiazepines like Valium and opioid pain medications can also reduce deep sleep.

There are not that many ways to sleep deeper at night. That said, there are some strategies for getting deeper sleep that you can try.

Follow Your Internal Clock

Sleep happens according to a circadian pattern, or your "internal clock."

You get more deep sleep earlier in the night. Irregular sleep interferes with the timing and can cause you to get less deep sleep.

To avoid messing up the timing, try to keep a regular sleep and wake schedule—including on the weekends.

Getting morning sunlight as soon as you wake up can also help because natural light is a cue for your circadian rhythm.

Avoid Naps

If you nap during the day, it may interfere with your ability to sleep deeply at night. Being awake for a long time can enhance your homeostatic sleep drive (pressure for sleep). In other words, the longer you stay awake, the more you want to sleep. When you finally do sleep, you may sleep deeper.

This strategy is called sleep consolidation or sleep restriction. It's been shown to be an effective way to treat insomnia.

Sleep restriction is used as part of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) programs. Sleep deprivation can lead to deeper periods of sleep.

Be Active During the Day

Exercise and daytime physical activity may help you sleep better. It's not clear, however, when you should time physical activity if you want to sleep deeper.

Get Sunlight in the Morning

Research shows that exposure to bright morning light causes you to get sleepy earlier in the evening and wake up earlier in the morning.

By timing your exposure to sunlight during certain hours of the day, you can train your body to fall asleep at your desired bedtime. The body is most sensitive to light in the morning and evening. So, in order to shift your bedtime about one hour earlier, you will need to wake up one hour earlier than you usually do to spend some time in the sun.

On the contrary, exposure to bright lights in the evening causes you to get sleepy later in the evening and wake up later in the morning.

Relax at Night

Some research has looked at how our nighttime behaviors and environments affect sleep in general, but we don't know as much about how these factors could help with deep sleep, specifically.

For example, taking a warm bath or shower about 90 minutes before you go to bed and having a cooler bedroom may improve deep sleep. Make sure your bedroom and bed are set up to help you relax. A supportive mattress and pillows can help make sure you sleep comfortably. Your room should be dark and quiet.

Treat Sleep Disorders

If you are having trouble sleeping, it's important to get an evaluation from a healthcare provider. You may have a sleep disorder. Treating your sleep disorder can help you return to a normal sleep pattern.

Some medications and substances can make you sleep deeper:

• Desyrel (trazodone) is an older antidepressant that is often used as a sleep aid. It appears to interact with compounds released during allergic reactions (histamines) which may increase deep sleep.
• Lithobid (lithium), a medication for bipolar disorder, may have a similar effect and is sometimes prescribed to treat sleep disorders.
• Doxylamine (Unisom) is an antihistamine used to relieve symptoms of hay fever and allergies. It can also be used to treat occasional insomnia.
• Melatonin is a hormone your body produces naturally to regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin supplements can be used nightly for up to two months to help you fall asleep earlier and faster.
• Cannabis may also enhance slow-wave sleep.
• Valerian root has been used since ancient times to relieve anxiety, stress, and insomnia. It can be found as a tea or supplement.
• Chamomile has also been used for thousands of years to promote sleep. It is also available in supplement or tea form. For most people it is mild and safe, although people with a known allergy to ragweed should avoid it.

There are also some sleep aids that do not seem to impact deep sleep one way or another. These non-benzodiazepine sleep aids include:

• Ambien, Zolpimist, Edluar (zolpidem)
• Lunesta (eszopiclone)
• Sonata (zaleplon)
  

Avoid Caffeine

Drinking or eating things that contain caffeine before bed can affect your ability to fall asleep or get deep sleep once you do. Sometimes increasing the amount of deep sleep you get may be as simple as cutting out caffeine at least three or four hours before you go to bed.

Drink Alcohol in Moderation

Poor sleep quality and insomnia are common side effects of alcohol use disorders. Although drinking alcohol momentarily causes sleepiness, it also disrupts sleep by causing a person to wake up throughout the night and earlier in the morning.

Furthermore, alcohol consumption is associated with snoring, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression, all of which are known to reduce sleep quality.

To improve sleep quality and sleep duration, and avoid waking up throughout the night, it's important to only drink in moderation.

Check Other Medications 

Certain medications may make it difficult for you to sleep. Some of these include:

• Certain antidepressants
• Beta-blockers
• Loop diuretics
• Corticosteroids
• Benzodiazepines
• Opioid pain medications

If you're taking a new medication and are having trouble sleeping, talk to your healthcare provider. They may be able to adjust your dose or switch you to a different medication.

Explore Technology

Some researchers are looking at whether devices that give off electrical patterns, vibrations, sounds, or light could enhance deep sleep.

For example, one headband and app on the market claims to improve deep sleep by changing your brain waves. While it's been part of a NASA-funded study of sleep in astronauts, more research is needed to prove that it works.

Do I Really Need to Sleep Deeper at Night?

If you feel like you want to sleep deeper, you may not know where to start or how much more deep sleep you should try to get.

People of different ages spend different amounts of time in deep sleep. For example:

• School-aged kids and teens need to spend 20% to 25% of their sleep time in deep sleep.
• Adults need to spend 16% to 20% of their sleep time in deep sleep.

Studies have found people spend less time in deep sleep as they get older. However, men tend to have a much sharper decrease in deep sleep as they get older compared to women.

Benefits of Deep Sleep

Getting enough sleep, including deep sleep, benefits your mind and your body. Adequate sleep is key for both your physical and mental wellness.

Growth and Muscle Repair

When you sleep deeper at night, your body can release growth hormone—the chemical that helps build and repair tissues.

Growth hormone is needed for normal growth in childhood 410, but it also matters to the health and function of adult bodies.

For example, it helps build muscle after exercise and limits the effects of normal wear and tear on the body. The increased blood flow to the muscles that happens during deep sleep helps these processes.

Brain Function

Getting deep sleep is also important for clearing waste from the brain, including a protein called beta-amyloid that has been found in abnormal amounts in thebrains of people with Alzheimer's 410.

Removing this waste helps your brain process and store memories.

Pain

If you aren't getting deep sleep it may make chronic pain worse. A lack of deep sleep has been linked to a condition called fibromyalgia, which causes pain, depression, and fatigue.

When you're able to sleep deeper, you may feel less pain.

Impaired Growth

Sometimes, not being able to sleep deeper at night can cause growth problems for kids.

For example, children with untreated sleep disorders (like sleep apnea) will get less deep sleep. Not getting enough deep sleep interferes with the release of growth hormone which can lead to slower-than-normal growth.

Fortunately, most children will catch up on growth once they receive treatment for a sleep disorder and are able to sleep deeper.

Immune Function and Chronic Diseases

Not sleeping deeply can also affect your immune system.

If you are not able to sleep deeper, you may find that you frequently get common illnesses like colds or influenza (flu).

A lack of deep sleep may also increase your risk of developing chronic diseases like heart disease or cancer.

Check How Much Deep Sleep You Get

If you're looking for ways to sleep deeper at night, you are probably well aware that you are not getting the amount of deep sleep that your body needs.

You may have frequent arousals during the night or make too many transitions from deep to light sleep. You may also wake up completely throughout the night. When you get up in the morning, you might still feel tired. Throughout the day, you might feel sleepy or fatigued.

There is no easy, accurate way to measure sleep stages, so it's hard to know for sure how much deep sleep you are getting each night.

The gold standard test for diagnosing sleep problems is a polysomnogram. It's a formal study done at a sleep center that measures: 

• Electrical activity of the brain and sleep stages (measured with an electroencephalogram)
• Muscle activity
• Eye movements
• Breathing patterns
• Oxygen levels
• Heart rhythm (measured with an electrocardiogram)
• Leg movements

There are some limitations to a polysomnogram test:

• It is disruptive to sleep.
• It is not good for long-term monitoring.
• It is expensive.
• It is not available to everyone.
• It cannot provide detailed insight into the long-term quality of sleep.

Wearable devices may help fill the void left by sleep center testing. Fitness trackers and similar devices are easy to use and can be used over the long term.

Wearables and fitness trackers use a few different measurements to track your sleep, including:

• Movement during sleep
• Heart rate
• Oxygen levels (some devices)
• EEG (some devices)

Wearable devices can give you an overview of your sleep patterns but these measurements do not give you an accurate picture of your deep sleep.

As more research is done and the designs are improved, wearable devices may become more accurate and useful for helping people understand their sleep patterns.

Summary

Finding ways to sleep deeper at night can benefit your overall health.

Deep sleep, also called NREM Stage 3 sleep, is important for repairing the body and clearing waste from the brain. Not getting enough deep sleep can affect your immune system, and may increase your risk for dementia and chronic diseases like cancer. 

A weakened sleep drive, sleep disorders, and medication or substance use can all make it harder to sleep deeper at night.