Whether you're wired from a little too much time scrolling on TikTok or stressed after a jam-packed day, you might find yourself lying in bed with your mind racing, struggling to fall asleep. And even once you manage to drift off, you can wake up feeling drained — pretty much the opposite of what you'd hope for, especially when another nonstop day awaits. If this scenario sounds familiar, it's possible you're concerned about the quality of your sleep and whether or not you're getting enough deep sleep.
How Much Deep Sleep You Should Get a Night
The amount of deep sleep you need is very individual, says Sudha Tallavajhula, M.D., a neurologist with UTHealth Neurosciences and medical director of the Neurological Sleep Medicine Center at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston.
In general, the average adult spends about 13 to 23 percent of the night in deep slow-wave sleep, and that seems to be an adequate amount, says Dr. Frank. "Studies have indicated that the average adult needs seven to eight hours [total] per night, and it seems that spending 13 to 23 percent of that time in deep sleep is normal" and theoretically, that's enough for optimal functioning, adds Dr. Wappel. (That works out to anywhere from 55 minutes to one hour and 50 minutes, in case you're wondering.)
How to Know If You're Getting Enough Deep Sleep
While deep sleep is important, there's no need to get super hung up on results from wearable sleep monitoring devices, for example. "Getting 'good' sleep numbers is not the ultimate goal," says Dr. Tallavajhula. "The parameters used for calculating deep sleep are different among manufacturers and may not necessarily mean the same thing."
"The sleep trackers are very helpful to get a sense of general sleep patterns and how restful one's sleep is, but they are not a substitute for an EEG which shows the brain waves and allows you to definitively distinguish sleep versus wake and the different stages of sleep," adds Dr. Wappel.
It’s more helpful to pay attention to whether you’re waking up feeling exhausted or just not refreshed, which indicates you’re probably not getting enough sleep, period, says Kendra Becker, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist and internist at Kaiser Permanente in Fontana, California. “Make sure you’re getting enough sleep — that’s seven to eight hours a night — in general,” she notes. “And the deep sleep will come.”
Of course, even if you always clock eight hours, you might still experience trouble getting enough deep sleep if your environment isn’t conducive to it, points out Dr. Wappel. “Sleeping in a disruptive environment — for example, with TV and other electronics emitting blue light that the brain interprets as sunlight — can impair your sleep quality and prevent you from getting into deep sleep,” she notes.
Healthy lifestyle habits — e.g. maintaining a well-balanced diet, exercising regularly, using that meditation app, and avoiding blue light from tech devices — should set your brain up for enough deep sleep, says Dr. Frank. You might also benefit from maintaining a steady sleep schedule, keeping the light and temperature in your room low, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol prior to bedtime, adds Dr. Tallavajhula.
And if you've made an effort to up your overall sleep and are still waking up beyond zonked, it may be time to check in with your primary care physician.
