Stage of Sleep that Has an Important Role for the Body
Table of Content
1. Getting to know deep sleep
2. Deep sleep needs vary by age
3. Causes of lack of deep sleep
4. The bad effects of lack of deep sleep on the body
5. How to find out how much deep sleep we get
6. How to get or improve deep sleep
Did you know that sleep consists of several stages? One of the most important stages of sleep is deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep or delta sleep.
In general, deep sleep is the stage of sleep associated with the slowest brain waves. Deep sleep is considered important because this stage of sleep allows brain function and memory to run properly.
Let’s learn more about deep sleep, its benefits for the body, and how it differs from other stages of sleep.
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Getting to know deep sleep
Deep sleep is the third and fourth stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. This stage of sleep is characterized by a number of characteristics, including:
- Your brain waves are at their slowest during sleep
- Your heart rate, body temperature and breathing are also at their slowest point
- Your muscles become relaxed
- You become difficult to wake up, even with loud noises.
In the first phase (third stage of NREM sleep) deep sleep can last from 45 to 90 minutes. This phase lasts longer in the first half of the night, then becomes shorter with each sleep cycle.
Meanwhile, the second phase (fourth stage of NREM sleep) deep sleep is known as the recovery stage of the body. Here are a number of body and brain functions that take place in this phase:
- Growth and repair of body tissues
- Physical recovery
- The release of various important hormones
- Memory fusion
- Emotional process and learning
- The immune system is energized
- Brain detox
- Balanced blood sugar levels and metabolism.
Without deep sleep, these various bodily functions cannot work, thus potentially causing a number of health problems. You can also experience various symptoms of lack of sleep.
Deep sleep needs vary by age
In healthy adults, deep sleep accounts for about 13-23 percent of their total sleep. So, if you sleep for 8 hours at night, you have gone through 62-110 minutes of deep sleep.
However, as you get older, you need less deep sleep. If you are under 30 years old, you can get 2 hours of deep sleep every night.
Meanwhile, if you’re over 65, you may only get half an hour of deep sleep each night, or not at all.
Younger age groups, especially infants and toddlers, need more deep sleep because this stage of sleep plays an important role in supporting their growth and development.
Causes of lack of deep sleep
Here are a number of factors that can cause you to not get enough deep sleep.
1. Sleep disturbance
Some types of sleep disorders that can damage deep sleep are sleep apnea and periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD).
Both of these sleep disorders can occur repeatedly, potentially reducing the time you get deep sleep.
2. Lack of urge to sleep
The urge or desire to sleep can decrease, thereby reducing the portion of deep sleep you get.
This decrease in urge can be caused by taking too long a nap to spend a lot of time in bed.
3. Use of certain substances or drugs
Caffeine is a stimulant that can reduce your deep sleep. The effects can even last for hours after consumption. The use of benzodiazepines and opioid drugs also has the potential to reduce deep sleep
The bad effects of lack of deep sleep on the body
Deep sleep plays an important role in maintaining our body functions, one of which helps process the information you get every day.
Lack of deep sleep has the potential to cause the brain to be unable to convert various information into memories.
In addition, here are a number of consequences that can result from an unmet need for deep sleep.
1. Chronic pain
Chronic pain can get worse if you lack deep sleep. One form is fibromyalgia which causes pain all over the body. This pain can subside as your sleep improves.
2. Impaired growth
Children who have sleep problems such as sleep apnea can find it difficult to get adequate deep sleep. This condition can interfere with their release of growth hormones. Fortunately, a child’s growth can return to normal if conditions that interfere with deep sleep are treated effectively.
3. Dementia
Lack of deep sleep also contributes to hastening the development of degenerative diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
In addition to the three potential problems above, an unmet need for deep sleep can cause immune system dysfunction and increase the risk of routine infections, such as colds or flu.
The risk of various chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (heart and blood vessels), is also considered to be increased.
Meanwhile, the deep sleep stage is thought to have a relationship with several sleep disorders, such as:
- Sleepwalking
- Bedwetting
- Night terror
- Sleep eating.
How to find out how much deep sleep we get
One easy-to-observe sign, if you lack deep sleep, is feeling tired when you wake up. You can also feel this fatigue throughout the day along with drowsiness.
If you constantly experience it, it never hurts to make sure the amount of deep sleep you get to the doctor.
Your doctor may recommend a polysomnography (PSG) exam. In this examination, you will sleep in the laboratory wearing a number of devices to monitor several important aspects, including:
- Oxygen level
- Heart rate
- brain waves
- Respiratory rate
- body movement.
Through polysomnography, doctors can tell if you have been in deep sleep and various other stages of sleep during your sleep.
How to get or increase deep sleep
Here are a number of tips that can help you get deep sleep.
- Take a warm bath or sauna about 90 minutes before bed
- Cold room temperature is thought to help promote deep sleep. The recommended room temperature for sleeping is around 18-19 degrees Celsius
- Create a sleep and wake schedule to apply regularly every day.
- Exercise regularly, at least 20-30 minutes every day. However, avoid exercising close to bedtime.
- Avoid consuming intakes that contain caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine before bed.
- Turn off lights and noises that can disturb your sleep. Also, get rid of gadgets from bed because they can keep you awake.
If you have trouble getting deep sleep and always feel tired after waking up, you should consult this problem with your doctor to get the right treatment.