All You Need to Know About Deep Sleep

Garima, my wife, usually sleeps for around 9–10 hrs every night but still, there are days when she complains of still not getting enough sleep.

She feels sleepy and groggy after waking up.

Just like you, I was also astounded after listening to her complain about the feeling of sleep deprivation.

As I am wont to under such circumstances, I went online and researched it. I came to know that even after getting almost 8 hours of sleep, a person could feel sleepy if the proportion of deep sleep is too low.

Then I submerged myself in searching all about Deep Sleep. And this is what I found:

What is Deep Sleep?

Most of us have heard that we should have a good night’s sleep of around 7 to 9 hours on average. But what most of us don’t give priority to is the quality of sleep.

Our bodies go through several stages of the sleep cycle when we sleep. Deep sleep is the state of sleep linked with the slowest brain waves. It produces slow waves with a relatively high amplitude and a frequency of less than 1 Hz.

Deep sleep is the one due to which we feel refreshed, if we get sufficient amounts of deep sleep, in the morning. And as the name suggests, it is difficult to wake up from deep sleep.

Deep sleep is sometimes known as “slow-wave sleep” (SWS) or “delta sleep.” The initial stage of deep sleep might last anywhere between 45 and 90 minutes. It is longer in the early part of the night and gets shorter with each sleep cycle.

What happens during Deep Sleep?

• During Deep Sleep, heartbeat and breathing become their slowest.
• Your brain waves become the slowest while you’re asleep.
• It’s difficult to awaken even with loud noises during Deep Sleep.

Functions of Deep Sleep

Human sleep deprivation research appears to indicate that the primary role of deep sleep may be to allow the brain to relax from its everyday activities.

Tasks that require cognitive function cause an increase in glucose metabolism in the brain. Slow-wave sleep also influences growth hormone release, which is always highest during this time.

Furthermore, it causes an increase in parasympathetic neural activity as well as a decrease in sympathetic neural activity.

Conclusion

Deep Sleep is as good for the body and mind as physical exercises are. If you want to lose weight then in addition to taking a balanced diet and performing high-intensity exercises, you need a good night’s sleep.

Even if you want to attain mental peace and tranquility, then too, in addition to doing meditation techniques you need a good amount of deep sleep.