Want to improve your deep sleep quickly? Here's how.

Your sleep occurs in several cycles of about 90 minutes.

In each cycle you go through 3 phases:

• Light sleep - 5% to 45% of your sleep - You relax, but can wake up easily
• Deep sleep - 10 to 25% of your sleep - You recover physically and mentally; essential for your health (1)
• REM sleep - about 25% of your sleep - This is also called dream sleep and is where your brain is most active.

These 3 phases repeat themselves several times a night, with more deep sleep in the first half of the night, and REM sleep increasing later on.

So the duration of each phase shifts slightly during the night.

With these practical steps, you can adjust your sleep environment, sleep schedule, and lifestyle to significantly improve the quality of your deep sleep.

A good sleeping environment is essential for a deep, refreshing sleep.

Here are some practical tips to improve your sleep environment:

• Darken your room
  Make your bedroom completely dark. Do your curtains let in light? Replace them with blackout curtains. Or use a sleep mask to block out light.
• Minimize noise with earplugs or headphones
  If you sleep in a noisy environment, earplugs or white noise can help block out noise and improve your sleep.
• Consider a lock on your door
  A lock can provide a feeling of security, which helps you sleep more deeply.
• Keep your room cool (max. 18°C)
  A cool room helps regulate your body temperature for a better night's sleep.
• Consider an active cooling mattress
• A cooling mattress regulates your temperature, which helps you sleep more deeply. Such a mattress uses extra breathable materials or cooling systems like gel or air circulation.

A consistent sleep schedule is essential for balancing your hormones and improving your sleep quality.

Use these tips to maintain a consistent rhythm:

• Try to keep your sleep times as consistent as possible every day
  This helps keep your biological clock on track and improves your sleep quality.
• Keep deviations to a maximum of 30 minutes per day, including weekends
  A small deviation is okay, but limit this to 30 minutes per day so as not to disrupt your rhythm.
• Limit exceptions to 1 outlier every 2 weeks
  Try to allow major deviations from your schedule only once every two weeks.
• A short night is better than disturbing your rhythm by staying in bed too long
  If you go to bed late, get up at your usual time so as not to disturb your rhythm.

Some medications can negatively affect your sleep quality.

Consider these steps:

• Evaluate your medication use together with your doctor
  Discuss with your doctor whether you can adjust your medication to improve your sleep.
• Actively work on your health (to reduce your dependency)
  Living a healthier lifestyle may help you become less reliant on medications, which can improve your sleep.

Nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants can disrupt your sleep.

Adjust your habits with these tips:

• Quit (or smoke less)
  Smoking can disrupt your sleep, so try to cut down gradually.
• Limit caffeine intake
  Limit coffee and other caffeinated beverages to a maximum of 2-3 times per day, and avoid them after 12:00 noon.

Regular exercise helps you fall asleep faster and achieve deeper sleep.

Try these tips:

• Exercise regularly
  Regular exercise improves your sleep quality and helps you get more deep sleep.
• Do cardio training (in addition to strength training)
  Cardio and mind-body exercises like yoga help you relax better and can improve your sleep quality.
• Avoid strenuous exercise in the evening
  While exercise helps you sleep better, intense exercise raises your cortisol levels, which can actually disrupt your sleep. Therefore, choose morning or afternoon workouts.

What and when you eat affects your sleep quality.

Follow these tips for a better night's sleep:

• Have your last meal no more than 2-3 hours before going to bed
  This gives your body time to digest the food before you go to sleep.
• Eat a light meal in the evening (with as few carbohydrates as possible)
  A light meal prevents digestive strain and helps you fall asleep faster. Eating fewer carbohydrates in the hours before bed also helps you stay in your deep sleep phase longer!
• Avoid fatty and sugary products in the evening
  These foods can disrupt your digestion and negatively affect your sleep.
• Follow the old-fashioned eating plan
  Eat your largest meal around noon and keep it light in the evening. Avoid snacks after dinner.

Alcohol, spicy foods, and junk food are typical "deep sleep disruptors." They can prevent you from getting that deep, restorative sleep, or only for a short time.

• Avoid alcohol before bed
  If you drink alcohol, do so earlier in the day, rather than right before bed, so your body has time to process it.
• Drink water between alcoholic drinks
  This helps prevent dehydration and maintains your electrolyte balance.
• Use spicy herbs at lunch
  Spicy foods can increase your body temperature, making it harder to fall asleep.
• Avoid foods rich in tyramine
  Foods like aged cheese and cured meats contain tyramine, which can make you more alert and disrupt your sleep.
• Avoid junk food in the evening
  Foods high in sugar and fat can disrupt your blood sugar levels and affect your sleep.

Artificial light in the evening, especially blue light from phones, TVs, and computers, can disrupt your sleep. It inhibits the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps your body fall asleep.

These tips will improve your overall sleep quality and indirectly support your deep sleep:

• Dim the lights at night
  Less bright light signals your body to relax and prepare for sleep.
• Use a blue light filter on your devices
  This helps protect melatonin production, which makes it easier to fall asleep and maintain a better sleep pattern. This affects the entire sleep structure, including deep sleep.
• Choose warm, subdued light
  Soft light in the evening prevents disruption of your natural sleep rhythm.
• Turn off screens at least 1 hour before bedtime
  This improves your sleep quality and supports a healthy sleep pattern.

Daytime sunlight exposure helps regulate your body clock and improves your sleep-wake cycle. This makes it easier to fall asleep and leads to deeper sleep.

• Get at least 15 minutes of morning sunlight - This helps reset your body clock and increases daytime alertness.
• Get outside regularly - Direct sunlight is best, even though it doesn't always shine. Just be careful not to burn!
• Use a daylight lamp of at least 10,000 lux - In winter, a daylight lamp can help stabilize your sleep-wake rhythm.
• Use the lamp 20-30 minutes per day - Preferably turn the lamp on in the morning for best results.

You need sufficient vitamin D for a healthy circadian rhythm. Vitamin D is also essential for the production of hormones that influence your mood and sleep regulation.

1. Choose a supplement with vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) - This form is better absorbed by the body than D2.

2. Follow these guidelines for vitamin D3 supplement dosages:

• Dosage for prevention: 25 mcg per day
• General support: 50 mcg per day
• In case of deficiency: 75 - 100 mcg per day

The amount of deep sleep you need depends mainly on your age, but on average it is 20-25% of your total sleep time.

• On average, adults need 1 to 2 hours of deep sleep per night to recover properly.
• Teenagers naturally get more deep sleep because their bodies and brains are developing rapidly. They sleep longer and therefore spend more time in the deep sleep phase. For example, children aged 6-12 are recommended to get 9-12 hours of sleep, of which 2.25 to 3 hours should be deep sleep (about 25%).
• In older adults , deep sleep often decreases due to natural changes, but it remains essential for health and recovery.

Deep sleep is very important for your recovery, strengthening the immune system, and memory function.

So if you don't spend enough time in this essential sleep phase, you may (eventually) experience:

• Chronic Fatigue - Despite a full night's sleep, you may feel exhausted in the morning.
• Difficulty concentrating - It becomes harder to concentrate or remember things.
• Irritability - Less deep sleep can lead to increased irritability and stress.
• Lowered resistance - Without sufficient deep sleep, your body has more difficulty recovering from exertion or illness.

While deep sleep is important, more deep sleep (than the usual 20-25%) doesn't automatically mean better sleep. It's mainly about the balance between the different sleep stages .

Light sleep and REM sleep are also essential for functions like memory, emotional processing, and mental clarity. Too much deep sleep can disrupt these other stages, which can affect overall sleep quality.

So it's not just about the amount of deep sleep, but about the quality and balance of your sleep.

To know if you're getting enough deep sleep, you need to measure it. And that can be quite tricky, as it requires precise monitoring of your sleep cycles.

I mentioned it before: There are several medications that can suppress your deep sleep. These include:

• Antidepressants (SSRIs)
• Antihistamines
• Corticosteroids
• Stimulants (such as Ritalin)
• Opioids
• Non-benzodiazepine sleeping pills (such as zolpidem)
• Benzodiazepines (such as diazepam)