You’re getting at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night — you make sure of it every night, after all — but, for some reason, you still feel tired to the bone. Or, perhaps, you find yourself napping in the afternoon but, somehow, can’t shake away the fatigue and weariness.
In that case, you may not be getting enough deep sleep. See, deep sleep isn’t just about the number of hours you spend on sleep each night. But, it’s also about the quality of the sleep.
Sounds worrying, right? Well, no need to sound the alarm just yet. We have here some tips, tricks, and hacks you can use to improve your deep sleep.
But, first, read on to find what exactly is deep sleep.
What is deep sleep?
Deep sleep is essentially the stage of sleep that has the slowest brain waves. It is also known as slow-wave sleep. Some characteristics of deep sleep include absent or slow eye movement and moderate muscle tone.
In contrast to its opposite — light sleep — deep sleep helps to heal and repair the body, replenishes cells, and revitalises the immune system. As for the duration, well, deep sleep should account for about 10% to 20% of your entire sleep.
It’s often very hard to wake from a deep sleep. Besides that, you’ll also tend to feel groggy — and perhaps even grumpy — when awakened from this state of sleep.
Now that you know what deep sleep is, let’s take a look at how to improve it.
Establish a routine
When it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, a proper schedule is always at the top of the list. The best way to do so is to come up with a bedtime ritual.
The ritual should be relaxing and calming as well as get you ready for sleep. So, obviously no action movies, exhilarating video games, or anything that gets the heart racing, really. In fact, ditch the devices altogether. You’ll find out why below.
Instead, read a book, write in your journal, take a long luxurious bath, or meditate — whatever it is that relaxes you.
No devices
A careful and strategic adjustment of your circadian rhythms can work wonders in ensuring that you have a rejuvenating sleep.
But, wait… what’s a circadian rhythm? Well, a circadian rhythm is basically the natural internal process that regulates the sleep/wake cycle. For the most part, it interacts and takes cues from the environment (for example, light and temperature) to ascertain the time of the day.
So, obviously, one way to regulate circadian rhythm is to make sure that the environment is conducive to sleep.
And, the biggest culprit that can ruin your beauty sleep? Electronic devices. Hence, get rid of all laptops, tablets, and phones that emit a blue light once it’s bedtime. You don’t want your brain to confuse the artificial light for daylight.
Create and follow a sleep-friendly diet
Yes, it sounds funny and like a joke but what you eat throughout the day has a great effect on either improving or compromising your deep sleep.
For starters, you should, when possible, avoid overeating or eating rich and heavy food when it’s close to bedtime. This is because the food will need more time to be digested, which can affect your sleep.
Besides that, spicy food can bring about heartburn as well as stomach issues. Those aren’t exactly ideal when you’re trying to get some quality slumber. So, proceed with caution and make sure that your diet isn’t what causing your sleep problems.
Invest in a quality mattress and pillows
We have said it once, we’ll say it again: a high-quality mattress and good pillows can drastically improve the quality of your sleep. You simply can’t get restful sleep — deep or otherwise — with lumpy subpar mattresses.
But, we can understand that the search for the perfect mattress isn’t an easy one. So, if you’re not sure where to start your search, you can start right here with this comparison tool.
Give pink noises a try
You’ve heard plenty about white noises. But, are you familiar with pink noises? Pink noises have become increasingly popular with people looking to boost their deep sleep.
Pink noises are essentially a deeper tone and have a lower frequency than white noises. You can hear them in waves lapping on a beach, raindrops, and the rustles of leaves.
A study by Northwestern argues that pink noises improve and prolong a person’s deep sleep. With these noises, you’ll wake up feeling even more refreshed and reinvigorated.
If you’re keen to give pink noises a try, there are various sound machines out there that include them.
Deeper and deeper into slumber
Now that you know that it’s not only the quantity of sleep that matters but also the quality, it’s time to put the above tips, tricks, and hacks into practice.
Which of the tips will you be implementing tonight? Or, perhaps, all of them? Let us know!