When deep sleep occurs, it is shown in the brain as large waves that resemble a delta pattern. In normal sleep architecture, we experience four different stages of sleep: stage 1 sleep (very light transitional sleep), stage 2 sleep (the stage of sleep we enjoy the most), REM stage sleep (in which we dream, and stage 3, or deep sleep (the deepest stage of sleep).Īs the chart to the right illustrates, each of the stages of sleep is identifiable, based on an electroencephalogram reading, by the appearance of the brain waves. If we are to remain healthy and functional into our later years, we really need to do everything we can to get our deep sleep. The amount we get depends not only on the quality of our sleep in general, but also on our age.
Stage 3 sleep, also known as deep sleep, slow-wave sleep, or delta sleep, is important for a number of reasons. The findings indicated that listening to these sounds might enhance a person’s deep sleep state, leading to better memory function when they wake up.Much has been made about the importance of getting your rapid-eye movement sleep (REM sleep), but there's another stage of sleep that's crucial to good health as well. A study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience looked into the effects of using sound stimulation, such as pink noise, on deep sleep. Pink noise is random noise with more low-frequency components than white noise. Pink noise may also increase the effectiveness of a person’s deep sleep. warming up the body in a spa or hot saunaĪdditionally, some antidepressants may help people get deeper sleep, although this is not the case for everyone.making diet changes that include eating fewer carbohydrates and more healthful fats.doing vigorous exercise, such as swimming, jogging, or running, early in the day rather than before bedtime.Other practices may help promote deep sleep and good sleep in general, such as: Doing so allows the body to go through more sleep cycles, which makes it possible to have more deep sleep. There may be a few ways to increase the amount of deep sleep that a person gets each night.Īs the American Sleep Association note, the most important thing that a person can do to increase the amount of deep sleep that they get each night is to set aside more time for sleep. Share on Pinterest Vigorous exercise may help promote deep sleep. Long-term issues with deep sleep may have an association with other conditions, such as heart disease or Alzheimer’s disease. However, if the person regularly does not get enough deep sleep, this may start to affect the brain.Īs deep sleep plays a role in memory, the body may have difficulty making new memories or retaining information if it does not get enough sleep. If the body does not get enough deep sleep one day, it will compensate the next time it can get sleep by quickly moving through the cycles to reach the deepest levels of sleep faster and stay there longer. Sleeping 7 to 9 hours is the recommendation for most adults, which will usually give the body plenty of time in the deeper states of sleep. The amount of deep sleep that a person has will relate to how much overall sleep they get. Importantly, a person has to get enough deep sleep for these functions to take place. The pituitary gland secretes human growth hormone during this stage, which helps tissues in the body grow and regenerate cells. This stage of sleep also helps the brain rest and recover from a day of thinking, allowing it to replenish energy in the form of glucose for the next day.ĭeep sleep also plays a role in keeping the hormones balanced. Deep sleep helps the brain create and store new memories and improves its ability to collect and recall information. While a person needs all the stages of sleep, deep sleep is especially important for brain health and function.