Deep Sleep 4/4

Alzheimer's, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases; biomarkers, lifestyle, supplements, drugs, and health care.
jginorio
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 1:13 pm

Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by jginorio »

Hello all:
A couple of months ago I purchased an Oura ring to track my sleep. I've been surprised, negatively, as to the amount of deep sleep that I get nightly. It fluctuates around 30 min. I take 5mg melatonin, I have blue light blocking glasses, I've taken some magnesium but I haven't been able to get more than that.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thxs,

Gino
User avatar
cdamaden
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 300
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:46 pm
Location: Alameda, CA, USA

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by cdamaden »

jginorio wrote:Does anyone have any recommendations?
Hi Gino, I would suggest that you look at your exercise. I find that the more active I am, the more deep sleep I get. Let us know how that goes.
Best,
Chris
Chris
E4/E4
Alameda, CA, USA
jginorio
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 1:13 pm

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by jginorio »

Thank you for the reply. I do crossfit 4-5 days a week so lack of exercise is not the issue, still trying to dial in what the problem is....
User avatar
cdamaden
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 300
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:46 pm
Location: Alameda, CA, USA

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by cdamaden »

jginorio wrote: still trying to dial in what the problem is....
I would suggest reading the book by Dr. Walker: Why We Sleep (Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams). He has been interviewed by Dr. Peter Attia (multiple times) and Dr. Rhonda Patrick if you prefer to hear a more Q&A approach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEbtf7uS6P8

One factor of course is sleep hygiene. Are you setting yourself up for the best night's sleep? Temperature, light, body temperature, owl or lark, your partner's sleep habits, etc.
Chris
E4/E4
Alameda, CA, USA
broiler_x
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2018 8:52 am

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by broiler_x »

I also got an Oura ring about 3 months ago, and I've been having fun performing experiments on myself to see what affects my sleep!

Deep sleep normally happens in the first third of the night, starting soon after you go to bed. So I find it's very important what you're routine is right before bed. For me, I've found that both alcohol consumption (like more than 1 glass of wine) and/or eating within 3 hours of bedtime is very bad. I can see it in reduced deep sleep and also elevated heart rate. This is especially true for alcohol. Alcohol makes my heart rate increase 10- 15 bpm for most of the night! So I've pretty much cut that out. Although, perhaps an elevated heart rate is beneficial to the brain due to increased nutrient transport? (who knows, I'm just saying that we don't know).

Also, having a "cool down" time before sleep is important in my experiments. I used to watch TV before bed, but now I always read for 15-30 minutes before going to sleep. I also have a set schedule and routine that I try not to deviate from every night.

As mentioned exercise is important, but it sounds like you have that covered.

Best of luck, and try some experiments on yourself (within reason, of course!).
jginorio wrote:Hello all:
A couple of months ago I purchased an Oura ring to track my sleep. I've been surprised, negatively, as to the amount of deep sleep that I get nightly. It fluctuates around 30 min. I take 5mg melatonin, I have blue light blocking glasses, I've taken some magnesium but I haven't been able to get more than that.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thxs,

Gino
jginorio
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 1:13 pm

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by jginorio »

Thanks broiler..will do...
mh586
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 10:50 am

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by mh586 »

Deep sleep happens in the first half of the night. Look for reasons your sleep is impaired in that time.
For me that is
1. exercising late (I target my heart rate not to go over 130 bpm after 4 PM)
2. eating late and too much (i target no food after 6 PM )
Hiker_gal
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:45 am

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by Hiker_gal »

I have a Garmin Fenix watch that tracks sleep, and I have similar results for deep sleep as you, also on 5 mg melatonin.
I second the recommendation of cdamaden of Mathew Walker's Why We Sleep. (Ironically, I listen to it on Audible when I cant sleep). He does say that we loose deep sleep as we age, and that may be a contributing factor for dementia (not what we want to hear I know). However, I don't recall ever hearing how much deep sleep is "enough". I have to wonder how accurate these devices are at tracking sleep stages. I cant comment on the Oura, but the Garmin monitors movement, and extrapolates sleep stages from this. I can view either the sleep stages or the tracked movement. I see movement patterns that at times are extrapolated to deep sleep, and at others are counted as light sleep. Without a clinical sleep study, I would suggest not getting too stressed about this, and also follow recommendations from broiler and others for sleep hygiene.
fellow 4/4
Vikingman
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 1:17 am

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by Vikingman »

Instead of taking melatonin I make sure I watch the sunrise in the morning. As sunlight travels into our eyes a process of producing melatonin begins. It is then stored until after the sun goes down prior to bedtime. I watched a beautiful sunrise on the beach the morning so I am hoping my Oura ring shows some good deep sleep results tonight. If I stop eating early and have a small window for TRE then I get much more deep sleep. No late TV, food or alcohol helps . Exercise earlier in the day helps my deep sleep as well as staying very hydrated during the day.
Tiramisu1984
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:46 pm

Re: Deep Sleep 4/4

Post by Tiramisu1984 »

Sleep is quite a mystery. I had a whopping 2 hours and 23 minutes of deep sleep last night. So, my recommendations are: 1) slightly cold air temperature 2) lack of stress (write down the action items that keep you up at night 3) accept your sleep patterns. I need a lot of sleep. I average 8.5 hours a night and at least one night a week I exceed 9 hours. When I saw how high my sleep scores are, I decided to relax and accept my sleep patterns. life when I had kids catching a 6:53 am bus was tough.....
Post Reply