okay so I been feeling tired af lately even tho I technically get like 7-8 hrs of sleep a night… but then someone told me “it’s not just how much u sleep, it’s how much deep sleep u get” and i was like wait wtf
so I started looking into it and here’s what I found. it’s not all science-y but just what makes sense to me lol
So what even is deep sleep?
okay so sleep has stages, right? Like u don’t just fall asleep and stay in the same mode the whole night. There’s light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep (that’s when u dream and stuff). It is like the body-repair mode. Muscles recover, brain cleans itself (weird but true), and u wake up feeling actually rested.
basically if u don’t get enough, you wake up feeling like trash even if u were in bed for 9 hours
How much deep sleep do u actually need??
So like, experts say that out of all your sleep, about 13–23% should be deep sleep. That don’t sound like much but it adds up.
If you sleep 8 hours, that’s around 1 to 2 hours of deep sleep that your body wants.
Here’s the rough idea:
| Total Sleep | Deep Sleep Needed |
|---|---|
| 6 hours | 45–75 mins |
| 7 hours | 55–95 mins |
| 8 hours | 1–2 hours |
But everyone’s different. Some ppl might need more, some less. Also, the older you get, the less you get naturally, which is kinda rude tbh lol
Signs You’re Not Getting Enough
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You wake up still tired no matter how long u slept
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Brain feels foggy af
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Muscles sore / slow recovery after workouts
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You randomly fall asleep during boring meetings
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Memory is just… gone (what was I saying??)
How to get more deep sleep (stuff that helped me)
okay so I tried a few things and some actually worked:
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No phone before bed — yeah I hate it too but doomscrolling til 2am is not sleep-friendly
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Cool bedroom — apparently your body needs to drop temp to sleep deep
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Cut caffeine after 2pm — this one HURTS but it helps
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Go to bed same time every night — even weekends (I try lol)
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Exercise — but not like right before bed or you’ll be hyped
also. alcohol ruins deep sleep. like you think you’re knocked out but it messes with the sleep stages. sad but true
Final Thoughts (aka me trying to fix my sleep life)
So yeah, getting enough sleep is cool and all, but if u ain’t getting deep sleep, ur kinda just laying there with your eyes closed. I didn’t even know that until recently lol.
Shoot for like 1.5 hrs of deep sleep a night if you can. Track it with a sleep app or watch thingy if you have one (they’re not 100% accurate but still give you an idea).
And fr if u feel tired all the time even with 8+ hrs of sleep, maybe check with a doc in case it’s something like sleep apnea or whatever. don’t just accept feeling like a zombie
ok good luck and sleep well