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How To Increase REM Sleep: 17 Life-Changing Sleep Hacks

Sleep is one of the main pillars of health alongside the food & drink we consume (diet) and how we move (exercise).

Talking about food; did you know that organ meat is the most nutritious food on the planet? Learn all about the benefits of organ meat. Onwards…

I used to think sleep was this annoying thing that got in the way of the stuff I needed and wanted to do. I’d try and get by with as least as possible at one point in my life.

This was a mistake that contributed to my decline into chronic fatigue syndrome and a very dark time in my life. One of struggle and merely surviving one day to the next.

Not taking my sleep for granted was important in my journey back to a base level of health. Now it’s a priority in my life along with the other pillars.

REM, or rapid eye movement sleep is one of the important stages in the sleep cycle; so if you’re not getting enough, learning how to increase the REM sleep stage is critical for health.

Sleep disorders can be a significant barrier to achieving enough REM sleep and should be addressed.

First, let’s understand the sleep phases and the REM phase specifically so we can figure out how to increase REM sleep.

Understanding Sleep Phases and Their Benefits

The sleep cycle comprises several stages, each playing a unique role in maintaining overall health. By understanding these stages, we can better appreciate the importance of REM sleep and how to enhance it.

The Sleep Cycle

The sleep cycle consists of NREM sleep (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) and REM sleep, each with distinct characteristics and benefits.

NREM Sleep

Stage 1: Falling Asleep

This is the lightest sleep stage, where muscle activity slows, and it’s easy to wake up. This stage lasts about 5-10 minutes.

Stage 2: Light Sleep

During this stage, heart rate and body temperature decrease. This stage accounts for about 50% of total sleep time and lasts around 20 minutes.

Stage 3: Deep Sleep

Also known as slow-wave sleep, this stage of NREM sleep is crucial for physical restoration. The body repairs tissues, strengthens the immune system, and builds bone and muscle. This stage lasts about 20-40 minutes.

REM Sleep

During REM sleep, brain activity increases, and vivid dreaming occurs. This stage is essential for emotional regulation, memory consolidation, and cognitive function. REM sleep occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep and lengthens with each sleep cycle.

Certain medications, such as antidepressants, and sleep disorders, like obstructive sleep apnea, can suppress REM sleep, affecting its quality and duration.

What is REM Sleep?

REM sleep, or Rapid Eye Movement sleep, is a critical phase of our sleep cycle that significantly impacts our cognitive and emotional well-being. During REM sleep, our brain is highly active, almost mimicking wakefulness, while our body remains largely paralyzed.

This paradoxical state is essential for processing emotions, consolidating memories, and overall mental health. Understanding REM sleep and its importance can help us take steps to ensure we get enough of this vital sleep stage.

Understanding REM Sleep

REM sleep is marked by rapid eye movements, vivid dreams, and heightened brain activity. This stage typically occurs multiple times throughout the night, with each REM period lasting longer than the previous one.

The first REM cycle usually starts about 90 minutes after falling asleep and lasts around 10 minutes. Subsequent cycles can extend up to an hour.

Importance of REM Sleep

REM sleep plays a crucial role in emotional regulation, memory consolidation, and learning. During this stage, the brain processes and stores information from the day, which helps improve cognitive functions.

Additionally, REM sleep helps maintain emotional balance by processing and mitigating stress and anxiety.

How to Get More REM Sleep

Improving REM sleep involves adopting healthy habits and making specific lifestyle changes. By focusing on consistency, optimizing the sleep environment, and incorporating relaxation techniques, you can enhance the quality and duration of REM sleep.

Here are several actionable tips to help you get more REM sleep.

1. Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Setting a consistent bedtime and wake-up time each day helps synchronize your body’s internal clock, facilitating the achievement and maintenance of REM sleep. Consistency is key to stabilizing your sleep patterns.

2. Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine

Create a calming pre-sleep routine to help signal your body that it’s time to wind down. This could involve activities such as reading, taking a warm bath, or engaging in relaxation techniques like deep breathing or meditation. Reducing screen time before bed also helps.

3. Keep Your Bedroom Cool and Dark

A cool, dark environment is conducive to better sleep. Set your bedroom temperature between 60-67°F (15-19°C) and use blackout curtains to block out light, helping your body relax and fall asleep more easily.

Now, keeping the room dark can be tricky if you share a bed with someone who prefers a light on – I know this first hand. In this case, I suggest investing in an eye mask.

I’ve tried both the MyHalos Sleep Mask and the Colorado Home Co Sleep Mask and both work well. The former is budget-friendly and the latter is a premium option but worth the investment.

4. Use Aromatherapy

Incorporating calming scents such as lavender, chamomile, or bergamot into your bedtime routine can promote relaxation and improve sleep quality. Use essential oils in a diffuser or apply them to your pillow.

5. Limit Exposure to Screens Before Bed

Exposure to blue light from screens can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle. To mitigate this, try to limit screen time for at least an hour before going to bed. If avoiding screens isn’t possible, consider using blue light filters to reduce the impact on your sleep.

Now I know this is easier said than done so there are some tools that can assist here. For example, you can download a free app called f.lux which will adjust your monitor’s screen display depending on the time of day, reducing the blue light in the evening.

Another option is to use blue blocker glasses. These glasses have come a long way with companies like BluBlocker that do a great range of styles.

6. Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine in the Evening

Caffeine can stay in your system for several hours, so it’s best to avoid it in the late afternoon and evening.

Similarly, while alcohol may initially make you sleepy, it can disrupt your sleep cycles and reduce REM sleep.

7. Exercise Regularly

Engaging in regular physical activity can help you fall asleep more quickly and experience deeper, more restorative sleep. However, try to finish intense workouts at least a few hours before bed to avoid overstimulation.

8. Eat a Healthy Diet

Simply put, if you eat crap, your body will give you crap back. Stay away from ultra-processed foods – this will help achieve better health generally.

Also, avoid heavy meals right before bed to prevent discomfort that can disrupt sleep.

9. Incorporate Relaxation Techniques

Practices like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises can help reduce stress and prepare your body for sleep. These techniques promote relaxation and enhance overall sleep quality.

10. Supplement Magnesium

Magnesium aids sleep by regulating neurotransmitters that calm the nervous system, promoting relaxation. It also helps maintain healthy levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that fosters sleep. This mineral supports deep, restorative sleep, including REM stages.

11. Limit Naps

Keep naps short and avoid napping late in the afternoon. Long or late naps can interfere with your nighttime sleep patterns and reduce the need for REM sleep at night.

12. Manage Stress and Anxiety

High levels of stress can negatively impact your sleep. Incorporate stress management techniques such as mindfulness, journaling, or therapy to help alleviate anxiety and improve sleep.

13. Monitor Your Sleep

Use wearable devices or sleep-tracking apps to monitor your sleep patterns and gain insights into your REM sleep. Tools like Oura provide detailed sleep data and personalized recommendations.

14. Consult a Sleep Specialist

If you have persistent sleep issues, consider consulting a sleep doctor. They can help diagnose and treat underlying sleep disorders that might be affecting your REM sleep.

15. Get Morning Sunlight Exposure

Exposure to natural light in the morning helps regulate your circadian rhythm, which can improve your overall sleep quality and enhance REM sleep. Try to spend at least 30 minutes outside each morning, even if it’s cloudy.

16. Use a Humidifier

Do you wake up with a dry mouth in the middle of the night?

You may find this is worse in the colder months when the heating is on and dries the air. A great solution is to use a humidifier near your bed.

17. Create a Quiet Space

Some of us can sleep through anything; there could be a full-blown storm going on and we’ll sleep through it without knowing it even happened.

There there’s those of us that wake at the sound of whisper. In this case, ensure all potential sounds are eliminated.

Try earplugs when sharing a home or room with someone who wakes us up with their noises. My wife loves to make a lot of noise so I invested in some earplugs… the best decision I made.

I’ve tried basic foam earplugs such as Flents Foam Ear Plugs and more expensive yet highly effective Loop Quiet Ear Plugs. Both work well and depend on your budget.

Factors Affecting Sleep Quality

Several factors can influence the quality and quantity of REM sleep. Understanding these factors can help identify potential issues and take appropriate measures to enhance REM sleep.

From sleep disorders to lifestyle choices, various elements play a role in how much REM sleep we get each night.

Common Sleep Disorders

A diagnosed sleep disorder such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and insomnia can significantly affect REM sleep.

Sleep apnea, for instance, causes frequent interruptions in breathing during sleep, which can prevent the sleeper from entering or maintaining REM sleep.

Narcolepsy, on the other hand, can lead to fragmented REM sleep, affecting its restorative benefits.

Medical intervention to treat sleep disorders is crucial for improving REM sleep.

Lifestyle and Environmental Influences

Our daily habits and environment also play a significant role in affecting REM sleep.

Factors like stress, irregular sleep schedules, and exposure to blue light from screens before bed can interfere with the natural sleep cycle.

Even the people we share a home and bed with can prevent quality sleep. I know this first hand; my wife is a night owl so when I’m going to bed she becomes active and starts cleaning the house.

All the lights go on, the vacuum cleaner comes out making it very difficult for me to relax and sleep. It created many arguments in the early years of our relationship.

But, it’s the way she is so it was either make or break – so, I figured out ways of dealing with this such as using a face mask and earplugs as mentioned in the tips above.

Creating a relaxing bedtime routine, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, and optimizing the sleep environment can help mitigate these issues and promote better REM sleep.

Age

The amount of REM sleep we get changes as we age. Infants spend about 50% of their sleep in REM, which is crucial for brain development. As we grow older, the percentage of REM sleep decreases.

By adulthood, REM sleep constitutes about 20-25% of our total sleep time, typically around 90 minutes to two hours per night.

People age further into their senior years, the proportion of REM sleep continues to decline, and the ability to sustain REM sleep diminishes.

This reduction in REM sleep can impact memory, emotional regulation, and overall cognitive function, highlighting the importance of prioritizing good sleep habits throughout life to maintain mental health and cognitive performance.

That’s why it’s important to make sure we get enough REM sleep as we age. But as the saying goes… if it don’t get measured, it don’t get fixed. So, let’s look at some tools that can help us track our sleep so we can figure out how to increase rem sleep.

Tracking and Improving REM Sleep

Monitoring your sleep patterns and making necessary adjustments can help improve REM sleep. Various tools and techniques can assist in tracking and enhancing your sleep quality.

Use of Sleep Tracking Devices

Wearable devices and sleep apps can help monitor your sleep stages and provide insights into your REM sleep. Tools like Welltory analyze sleep data and offer personalized recommendations.

Here are some sleep-tracking aids and apps:

  • Oura Ring Gen 3
    • Type: Wearable (Ring)
    • Features: Tracks heart rate, body temperature, and blood oxygen levels. Provides detailed sleep, activity, and readiness scores. Includes guided meditation and sleep coaching programs.
    • Pros: Lightweight, stylish, long battery life (4-7 days), comprehensive sleep tracking.
    • Cons: Pricey, requires a monthly subscription ($5.99 after a free 6-month trial).
    • Price: Starts at $299 plus membership​.
  • WHOOP 4.0
    • Type: Wearable (Wristband)
    • Features: Tracks heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen levels. Includes a haptic alarm and can be worn with different garments.
    • Pros: Ideal for active individuals, long battery life, versatile wearing options.
    • Cons: Requires a monthly membership.
    • Price: Starts at $239​​.
  • Fitbit Versa 4
    • Type: Wearable (Smartwatch)
    • Features: Monitors heart rate, and sleep stages (light, deep, REM), and provides a daily sleep score. Includes smart wake and sleep mode features.
    • Pros: Comprehensive health tracking, useful smart features.
    • Cons: Can be uncomfortable to wear at night, relatively expensive.
    • Price: $149.95​.
  • Muse S Headband
    • Type: Wearable (Headband)
    • Features: Measures brain activity similar to an EEG, tracks sleep stages, and offers guided meditation sessions.
    • Pros: Advanced sleep tracking, and meditation assistance.
    • Cons: High price.
    • Price: $399.99.
  • SleepOn Go2Sleep Tracker
    • Type: Wearable (Ring)
    • Features: Monitors heart rate and blood oxygen levels, alerts users to abnormalities and provides detailed sleep analysis through an app.
    • Pros: Affordable, lightweight, subtle design.
    • Cons: Limited to basic sleep tracking functions.
    • Price: $129​.
  • Withings Sleep
    • Type: Non-Wearable (Under-the-Mattress)
    • Features: Tracks sleep cycle, heart rate, and snoring. Integrates with smart home devices to adjust lighting and temperature.
    • Pros: Comfortable, easy to set up, does not require wearing anything.
    • Cons: Takes time to gather accurate sleep pattern data.
    • Price: $129.95​.
  • Sleep Cycle App
    • Type: App (Mobile)
    • Features: Tracks sleep patterns using your phone’s sensors, provides sleep stats and data graphing, and includes alarm melodies and health integrations.
    • Pros: Free to download, no additional devices required.
    • Cons: Less accurate than wearable devices.
    • Price: Free to $39.99 for premium features

Monitoring and Adjusting Sleep Habits

Tracking your sleep can identify patterns and suggest improvements. Consistently adjusting your habits based on this data can lead to better REM sleep and overall health.

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

Matthew Walker, in his book “Why We Sleep,” emphasizes the importance of getting enough sleep, typically recommending seven to nine hours per night for adults. This amount ensures an adequate sleep period, encompassing both deep sleep and REM sleep stages.

As we’ve already learnt, REM sleep is crucial for cognitive functions such as memory consolidation and emotional regulation, requires adequate sleep duration to be fully effective.

Walker highlights that achieving at least seven hours of sleep is essential for optimal health, as insufficient sleep is linked to various health issues including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Deep sleep, vital for physical restoration and immune function, occurs predominantly in the early part of the sleep cycle, while REM sleep increases in the latter part.

Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule helps people fall asleep more easily and enhances overall sleep quality, ensuring both deep and REM sleep stages are sufficiently met.

Pay Attention to Your Circadian Rhythm

Matthew Walker emphasizes the importance of aligning your sleep schedule with your natural circadian rhythm. He suggests aiming to get to bed by 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM.

This timing allows for a sleep period that maximizes the benefits of both deep sleep and REM sleep, which are crucial for physical and mental health. Walker explains that going to bed too late can disrupt the natural sleep cycle, leading to a reduction in the quality and quantity of restorative sleep stages.

Adhering to this bedtime helps ensure you get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep necessary for optimal health and well-being.

Sleeping Pills: Do They Really Work?

Sleep medicine & pills are often prescribed to help people with insomnia and other sleep disorders, but their long-term effectiveness and impact on sleep quality, especially REM sleep, can be concerning.

Understanding the types of sleeping medications and how they work can help you make informed decisions about their use.

Common Sleeping Medications

Benzodiazepines

Medications like Xanax and Valium enhance the effect of the neurotransmitter GABA, leading to sedation. They are typically prescribed for short-term use due to their potential for dependency and adverse effects on sleep architecture.

Non-Benzodiazepine Hypnotics

Drugs like Ambien and Lunesta act on GABA receptors with fewer side effects than benzodiazepines. They are commonly used for treating insomnia but can still affect sleep stages.

Melatonin Receptor Agonists

Medications such as Rozerem mimic the natural hormone melatonin, which regulates sleep-wake cycles. These are generally considered safer for long-term use and have fewer effects on sleep stages.

Antidepressants

Certain antidepressants, like Trazodone, are prescribed off-label for their sedative effects. These medications can suppress REM sleep and lead to REM rebound when discontinued. They can be useful when insomnia is linked with depression or anxiety but may alter normal sleep patterns.

The Downside of Sleeping Pills

While sleeping pills can provide short-term relief, they often prevent users from achieving quality sleep, particularly REM sleep.

Long-term use can lead to dependency and other health issues. Therefore, they are not considered a sustainable solution for chronic sleep problems.

Conclusion: How To Increase REM Sleep

It’s clear that sleep hygiene is vital to achieve even a base level of health let alone optimizing health. And, getting enough REM sleep is important for emotional regulation, memory consolidation, and learning.

In our modern world of artificial light and addictive technologies such as Apple iPhones, our sleep hygiene is taking a knock.

They’re confusing our primitive minds that are wired so that when the sun sets and we have nothing but the moon’s and stars’ light, this is our cue to sleep.

Now we have to take control to maximize our sleep hygiene and reduce REM sleep deprivation. Fortunately, it only takes a few adjustments plus taking advantage of our modern world and the sleep tracking and promoting technology such as the Oura Ring among others.

So, if you’re struggling to sleep or want to maximize your REM sleep to optimize your health, implement the tips given here and I’m sure you’ll see improvements and you’ll be getting a good night’s sleep before you know it.

And that’s it… have a restful sleep!

FAQs

Why is my REM sleep so low?

Low REM sleep can result from stress, irregular sleep schedules, alcohol, caffeine, and certain medications. Addressing these factors may improve REM sleep quality.

What supplement increases REM sleep?

Magnesium supplements can enhance REM sleep by regulating neurotransmitters that promote relaxation and sleep quality.

Does melatonin help REM sleep?

Melatonin primarily helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle, making it easier to fall asleep, but it doesn’t significantly increase REM sleep duration.

What activates REM sleep?

REM sleep is activated by the brainstem’s signals, particularly the pons and medulla, which play a crucial role in initiating this sleep stage.

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