Have you ever wondered why you wake up feeling refreshed one morning but feel groggy and exhausted the next? It could be due to the amount of deep sleep you’re getting!
This article reveals the secrets to getting more deep sleep every night. With these tips, you’ll wake up refreshed and ready to tackle anything the day throws your way.
Understanding the Sleep Cycle
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Before you can understand how to get better sleep, you must know what happens when you sleep. Sleep is described with four stages:
1. N1 Sleep
N1 sleep happens when you fall asleep and lasts 1-7 minutes. This is very light sleep—it is easy to wake someone up when they’re in the N1 stage.
2. N2 Sleep
Body temperature drops, breathing and heart rate slows, and muscles relax. You spend half of the time you’re asleep in this stage.
3. Deep Sleep
N3 sleep, also called deep sleep, is where your body heals, grows, and relaxes. Your pulse and breathing rate decrease even more, and waking you up is much more difficult.
4. REM Sleep
REM sleep stands for rapid-eye-movement sleep. It’s the sleep stage with the most vivid dreams, and you spend about a quarter of your time asleep in this stage.
How to Get More Deep Sleep
If you want to wake up refreshed, the trick is to maximize your time spent in N3 sleep. It’s not as complicated as you think—boosting your deep sleep can be as simple as making a few lifestyle changes.
1. Diet
What you eat and when you eat it significantly contributes to how you sleep. You’ve probably heard it’s best to avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed—these disturb the amount of deep sleep you will get.
Try to eat dinner 2-4 hours before going to bed. If you’re feeling hungry right before you sleep, have a small amount of one of these sleep-boosting foods:
- Turkey
- Soybeans
- Pumpkin seeds
- Avocado
- Almonds
- Chamomile tea
These foods contain magnesium and tryptophan, which are known to promote sleep!
2. Relaxation
You will sleep better if you wind down before you go to bed. Leaving the day’s stress behind is easier said than done, but with practice, you’ll become a pro at relaxing!
To relax before bed, try turning off the overhead lights and putting a drop of lavender oil in a diffuser. Leave your screens behind in favor of a good book, and get warm and cozy under a blanket. You can also get Delta-8-THC edibles or take melatonin to really leave the day’s stressors behind.
3. Exercise
Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for deep sleep. You don’t have to spend hours at the gym; an outdoor walk or a yoga class is enough to experience the benefits.
Be careful about when you exercise, though. Exercising too close to bedtime can wake you up and make it hard for you to fall asleep, so workout in the morning or the afternoon for best results.
4. Your Environment
Your bedroom significantly affects how much deep sleep you get every night. Your room should be:
- At a cool temperature
- As dark as possible
- Quiet
- Comfortable
- Clean
Many commonly overlook the last two points on the list: a comfortable mattress and sheets make a huge difference in sleep quality, as does a clean room. Clutter, even if you can’t see it in the dark, makes your room feel crowded and can actually keep you awake.
5. Technology
The blue light from our technology’s screens disrupts our sleep schedule. You might think that watching the next episode of a show is a great way to wind down, but the blue light actually sends messages to your brain to stay awake and limits the amount of time you spend in deep sleep.
Therefore, prioritize putting your technology away at least an hour before bedtime. This will help you feel tired, fall asleep faster, and sleep more deeply.
6. Routines and Habits
To boost your deep sleep, stick to a regular sleep schedule and find a bedtime routine that helps you wind down.
Going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day gets your body into a routine. After a while, your body will start releasing the chemicals that make you tired right before bedtime, which helps you fall asleep and get more deep sleep.
Additionally, a bedtime routine is like a signal to your body that it’s time to start relaxing. If you stick with your schedule, you’ll find it much easier to fall asleep and wake up feeling refreshed!
Conclusion
Sleep is one of the most essential factors in how we feel, perform, and succeed throughout the day. If you constantly wake up feeling like you got no sleep, it’s probably because your lifestyle doesn’t allow your body to relax fully into deep sleep.
With the tips in this article, you can improve the amount and quality of your deep sleep. Enjoy waking up feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the day!
