Sleep is very important for immune function, energy levels, fat loss as well as overall health. Technically, deep sleep is referred to as Slow-Wave Sleep (SWS). It is basically constitutes some part of Non-Rapid eye movement sleep cycle. This is whereby the brain waves’ frequency slow down. During deep sleep, the brain wave frequency is in the range of 0.5-2.0hz and delta waves are generated. When a person is deep asleep, their body assumes an elevated state of arousal threshold thus making the individual less prone to awakening. This means that the body will be in a physical paralysis state because eye movement ceases except for the life critical functions. It is quite an uphill task to wake up in such a deep stage of sleep and those who do are very groggy. Most people believe that they dream in deep sleep but that is far from the truth because very little dreaming goes on. The ECG machine is considered to be the most accurate in regard to tracking the levels of deep sleep. It is very important to know exactly how much deep sleep one is getting each night for those who are keen on deep sleep.
The following are some insightful suggestions on getting more deep sleep:
•Do the basics
Sleep basics refers to things such as eating a healthy diet, adhering to light cycles, prioritizing your sleep, fixing your sleep environment and building a sleep routine. Strictly adhering to the above on a daily basis will go a long way in helping you to get more deep sleep.
•Stress less
It is not advisable to be stressed just before going to bed as it works against efforts of getting deep sleep. This is because night time stress before you sleep decreases SWS once you are asleep. It is flawed to think that falling asleep will ease your stress since the damage has already occurred. Researchers established that delta waves are only expressed in relation to increased sympathetic nervous system activity and low levels of the stress hormone cortisol. There are other causes of high cortisol levels that can also inhibit deep sleep like low quality meal before going to bed, toxins and pollutants in the bedroom/mattress, anxiety, exposure to nnEMF from cell phones or Wi-Fi, chronic infections, poor gut function and blue light exposure. Anybody who is keen on getting deep sleep should equally be serious about stress mitigation.
•Cool the bed
Studies reveal that a cool temperature of 68-72 °F is optimal for deep sleep. Usually, the body temperature begins to drop when you are ready to sleep. However, when the environmental temperature remains elevated then the body gets a wrong signal i.e. it is not time to go to bed. Low deep sleep and high body temperature have a strong correlation. A good way to cool your sleeping environment is to put a cooling device under your mattress.
•CBD oil
CBD oil or cannabidiol oil is a potent phytocannabinoid, which is extracted from marijuana and industrial hemp. Recent studies reveal that CBD oil is very effective when it comes to improving deep sleep. The best part about it is that it is a natural sleep aid that is completely natural hence has no toxic side effects. However, it is not available in all countries and is a bit costly.
•Comfort
Using a good mattress is one of the ways of improving your comfort during sleep thus can help you to get good sleep. Invest in a good mattress will help relax the whole body and support the body in an appropriate way. It is difficult to fall asleep or wake up in the middle of night when the body get pains from a terrible mattress. The comfortable sleep environment is important, including a comfortable mattress.
•Have sex
Orgasms are known to have extremely sedative effects on people. This means that having sex each night before going to bed is guaranteed to give you more deep sleep thus highly encouraged. There are various chemicals that are released by the body during sex that help with deep sleep, these are prolactin, vasopressin, serotonin and oxytocin. Oxytocin reduces cortisol to produce a calming effect on the body thus allowing you to drift to sleep. Serotonin helps in maintaining regular sleep as well as wake cycles. Vasopressin reduces cortisol to enhance the quality of sleep and the levels of prolactin are elevated whenever one goes to sleep. Prolactin levels increase after sex and remain high for at least 1 hour thus boosting deep sleep.
•Go to bed earlier
The human body normally prioritizes the deep sleep that occurs during the first half of sleep. This is because the second half is never characterized by deep sleep, instead, it has more REM sleep. Therefore, the early part of nights, say 11pm - 2 am most of the sleep cycles are those of deep sleep while REM sleep is more pronounced later in the night i.e. 3am - 6am. Missing the first part means that you are unlikely to experience deep sleep hence avoid late work, TV watching and partying.
•Avoid late night training
Exercise is a form of stress to the body and this can disrupt your deep sleep. A stress load is introduced to the body each time that you lift heavy weights or do sprints. This is good, particularly for those that have enough time to recover. However, it is not advisable for such a stress load to occur just a few hours prior to bed. Furthermore, late night training is known to increase the body temperature levels in the core and this does not support the body’s mechanism of lowering temperature before sleep. Aim to train at least a few hours prior to bed, the ideal time is early evening or in the afternoon.
•Big meals before bed
Consuming large meals before you go to bed can deprive you of deep sleep as it triggers acid reflux and blood sugar crash. The fall in blood sugar levels later on makes the body release cortisol and adrenaline, a tress response that is bound to wake you up at night.
•Check for parasites
Intestinal worms or parasites can be the reason behind chronic waking and restless sleep. This is because there are more active at night thus promoting low levels of deep sleep.
The suggestions above are not exhaustive as there are many more.
Conclusion
The tricks and tips above should help you get more deep sleep. Deep sleep is also called the golden sleep because the body and brain are complete relax during deep sleep. Although people may sleep average 7-9 hours a night, the deep sleep is only 25% of a whole night sleep. The suggestions above is feasible to get more deep sleep. The benefits associated with deep sleep are numerous and this is why people should make a deliberate effort to improve their deep sleep.
