The Ultimate Guide to Deep Sleep for Men
Updated October 22, 2023 by Scott Lindsay
How to Sleep Like a Baby - and Wake Like a Legend
The more articles I read about sleep, the more I’m convinced that the authors believe that boredom is the secret to a mighty slumber. It’s as though they are trying to bore us to sleep … before they bore us to death.
It’s all versions of the same tired advice: Don’t consume caffeine too late in the day. Try to set up a consistent sleep routine.
If it was that easy, then millions of people wouldn’t be spending billions of dollars on crappy overpriced sleep supplements – and you wouldn’t be here now.
I’m going to change all that with this article. I’m going to show you the incredible power of a specific stage of sleep and how specific sleep strategies can literally change your life. I’m going to show you uncommon tips and protocols that men are using today to get faster and more impactful result. And I’m going to do it all without boring you to death.
I’m going to do all that for one reason … I love sleep.
You see, we spend all this time, effort, and money trying to lose weight, trying to get fit, trying to get smarter, try to get more attractive, trying to get more success. We do all of that while ignoring perhaps the most important success trigger right under our noses. In fact, the very efforts we go to to improve ourselves is often at the expense of this very tool that could get us there faster.
By the time you finish this article my hope is that you’ll be as enamoured and dedicated to optimizing your sleep as I am. I’ll also show you some sneaky (unboring!) ways to get results faster so that you can experience what I call a mighty slumber.
Here we go …
- Understanding the Sleep Stages
- What is Stage 3 Sleep?
- Benefits of Stage 3 Deep Sleep
- Causes of Sleep Disruption
- How to Increase Deep Sleep Naturally
- How to Fall Asleep Faster
- FAQs
Understanding the Sleep Stages
Before we dive into the ‘how’ of deep sleep, it's important to understand the ‘why’. Sleep is much more than an off-switch that gets flipped when it’s time to shut down for the night. Quite the opposite.
In fact, your brain remains very active throughout much of the night. It goes through a cycle of stages. And each stage plays an important role in your overall health and well-being.
The Different Stages of Sleep
Here’s a quick run down of the 4 stages of sleep:
Stage 1. This is the transition phase. It’s those first few minutes when you’re just dozing off. Imagine your head beginning to droop during that meeting this afternoon (let’s agree to never let Carl from accounting anywhere near a PowerPoint again). That’s you entering Stage 1.
As you’ve experienced when your coworker gives you a nudge from under the table, it’s easy to wake up quickly from this phase of light sleep.
Stage 2. This is when the relaxation really starts to kick in. Your brain decides that it’s all systems go (or should I say all systems stop?) As your brain commits to sleep, your body temperature lowers and your heartbeat slows.
Stage 3: Also known as Deep Sleep. Your brain slows down even more and starts to get into a groove of powerfully restorative brain waves. This stage is where the magic happens … and we’re going to spend a lot more time on this phase below.
Stage 4. This is the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage. This is that freaky phase where a person’s eyes bounce around under their lids. This is due the brain being super active in this stage. It’s almost like you’re awake.
REM is where dreams occur. (Not metaphorical, Oprah … I’m referring to real dreaming)
The Role of REM Sleep
REM sleep is a crucial part of the sleep cycle (the not necessary the headliner that I'm focus on today). In addition to dreaming, REM sleep is associated with memory consolidation and emotional processing.
It’s like the central library of your brain. Your mind takes all of the thoughts, experiences, learnings, and emotions from throughout the day and tries to determine how to sort them and where to file them.
The Sleep Cycle
Now an important point to understand here - and the reason this is called the sleep cycle – is that you don’t just go through each of these stages one time each night. You ‘cycle’ through each of these stages multiple times while you slumber. And each cycle lasts approximately 90 minutes, on average.
Sleep for 7.5 hours, for example, and it’s likely that you went through 5 complete sleep cycles.
(As an aside, there is a theory in the sleep space that it’s optimal to sleep in multiples of 90 minutes for this very reason. Jury’s still out on that one … but it just popped in my head while I was writing this.)
What is Stage 3 Sleep and Why Is It Important?
Buckle up. This is where the game is really going to change for you …
The Definition
Imagine for a moment that you’ve got fuel tanks in your body. Five tanks, specifically, and each of these tanks holds a specific type of fuel.
You’ve got one tank for focus, one for resilience, one for energy, one for strength, and one for health.
If I were to summarize the role of Stage 3 sleep in one ridiculously overly simplistic metaphor, it would be this: stage 3 sleep is the phase where your body refills these five fuel tanks.
Get enough stage 3 sleep you’ll wake up with your focus, resilience, energy, strength, and health fuel tanks filled to brim.
You’ll wake up FRESH (see how I snuck that witty anagram in there?)
Conversely, skip over much of the stage 3 sleep and your tanks will only be 10 or 20% full. (we’ll talk about why that happens later)
I might as well acknowledge the scientific definition of stage 3 sleep here for the sake of thoroughness – and that is characterized by slow brain waves, known as delta waves, that are different from the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage.
But again, my goal is to entertain you enough to buy into this … not bore you into submission.
The Benefits of Stage 3 Restorative Sleep for Men
I’ve already mentioned the ‘Big 5’ of focus, resilience, energy, strength and health. The amazing thing is, the benefits of sleep for men actually get more impressive the deeper you go down the rabbit hole.
For men, sleep has additional benefits. It helps regulate testosterone levels, which is essential for sexual function, muscle growth, and overall vitality. Sleep also enhances athletic performance, improves focus and concentration, and reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
Have a look at this list of documented benefits of deep sleep and tell me that this stage isn't the ultimate performance enhancer:
What Happens When You Don't Get Enough Deep Sleep Each Night?
With that impressive list of potential super powers above, it’s not hard to image the disastrous outcomes of the opposite. Here are just some of the reported symptoms of poor sleep:
The science is irrefutable - miss out on stage 3 sleep consistently enough and you’ll find yourself more of a mouse than a moose.
What Causes Sleep Disruptions?
So if Stage 3 sleep is so important, why does your body ever skip it?
Well, you can blame your genetics for this one. You’re likely already aware, but you share over 99% of your genes with your cave dwelling ancestors. And those genes were designed to thrive in a much different environment than that in which we find ourselves today.
Stage 3 sleep is triggered when your body detects a specific cascade of natural signals. And it turns out that many of our modern conveniences are like kryptonite to your ability to experience deep sleep.
Here are some of the common causes of sleep disruption:
I go into more in the Slumber Stacks Protocol Guide
Sleep Quality over Sleep Quantity (How Much Deep Sleep Do You Need?)
Alright, let’s get into the good stuff. Let’s look at how we can discover that magical stage 3 sleep and unlock the life changing benefits that come with it.
In order to do that, I want you to start thinking about sleep differently. I want you think about quality of sleep over quantity of sleep.
Have you ever passed out after a big night of 5 or 6 or 11 beers and slept for 12 hours, only to wake up and still feel exhausted the next day?
That’s because your brain and body likely spent little, if any, of those 12 hours in stage 3 sleep. It was too busy trying to process the alcohol and toxins (stupid atomic hot wings!).
In order to truly reap the benefits of a real, mighty slumber, the average man needs about 1.5 to 2 hrs of deep sleep every night. Instead of focussing on 7 or 8 or whatever ‘hours’ of sleep … start asking yourself how you can spend more of that sleep in stage 3.
And that extra time in stage 3 sleep is what I mean by quality.
Start to focus on quality of sleep over quantity of sleep and watch the magic happen.
How to Increase Deep Sleep Naturally
The Internet is littered (appropriately worded considered the quality) with ‘tips and tricks’ to help you sleep better and wake up refreshed. Most of it is actually pretty accurate … but let’s face it, it’s also boring.
If the secret to fixing your sleep was a simple as ‘try to go to bed at a consistent time every night’, then you would have done it already.
That said, we should probably list a couple of the ol’ stand bys just for the sake of thoroughness. It can’t hurt to review some of the fundamentals. (but fret not … we’ll get to some the really cool stuff below)
A consistent bedtime routine signals to your body that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep. Engage in relaxing activities before bed, such as reading a book, taking a warm bath, or practicing meditation or deep breathing exercises.
The Usual (Boring) Suggestions to Increase your Deep Sleep
With that impressive list of potential super powers above, it’s not hard to image the disastrous outcomes of the opposite. Here are just some of the reported symptoms of poor sleep:
But what if we can’t do those things above with regular consistency? What if we’ve tried them, but we’re still stage 3 deprived?
That, my friend, is why you’re here. I’m going to open your eyes to a whole other level of powerful but little-known strategies.
And here’s why I get paid the medium bucks …
The Unusual (Non-Boring) Tips for Getting More Deep Sleep
Now, don’t be a lunatic and stare at the sun if it’s past sunrise. If it’s uncomfortable and/or hurts, then it’s dangerous. I’m NOT suggesting that.
You’ll know you’re doing it right if it actually feels good, like I said.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Inhale through your nose to a mental count of 4
2. Relax and hold your breath for a count of 7
3. Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of 8 – pursing your lips and making a darth vader sound
Many breathing techniques work for relaxation. This one seems to have especially good effect on sleep.
While it obviously doesn’t make your environment less quiet, it blocks out all of the other out of the norm noise which can disturb your sleep. I bring one of these with me when I travel and I am always confident that I’ll be able to get that great stage 3 sleep even in a noisy environment.
Note: Trying to juggle and test a million and one sleep suggestions can be overwhelming and unproductive. That’s why I created the Slumber Stack protocol. It can help you fast track the exact combination of sleep strategies that will work for you. Grab it here and you’ll be well on your way to the benefits of stage 3 sleep that must faster: FREE SLUMBER STACKS PROTOCOL GUIDE
Speaking of faster …
How to Fall Asleep Faster (because Sleep Quantity still plays a role)
As you know by now, I’m kind of big fan of stage 3 sleep. But I still recognize that it’s tough to get good quality sleep when and if you can’t even fall asleep in the first place.
So here are 3 tricks for falling asleep faster when counting sheep just won’t cut it …
- start with deep breaths (yep, breathing works)
- concentrate on relaxing your scalp and face
- Then drop your shoulders and focus on relaxing your arms and hands
- Then relax your chest, your stomach, your midsection, and so on …
- Work your way down one leg at a time … again, focusing on relaxing every muscle and nerve fibre as you go
- Do this very slowly. Rushing will have the opposite effect.
- Once you’ve finished with your toes, imagine yourself laying perfectly still in a warm meadow or a calm beach
While it obviously doesn’t make your environment less quiet, it blocks out all of the other out of the norm noise which can disturb your sleep. I bring one of these with me when I travel and I am always confident that I’ll be able to get that great stage 3 sleep even in a noisy environment.
Sleep Disorders and Their Impact on Sleep (The Medical Watch-Outs)
While the main focus of this article was to expose you to the world of incredible stage 3 sleep benefits and the strategies to help you get results faster, there are definitely a few medical disorders to watch out for. While you should always consult with your health care professional when considering health and wellness choices, the disorders below absolutely require the intervention of a licences professional to overcome.
Insomnia
This is more than just waking up feeling like crap. This is a true medical situation where there is a disfunction in your body’s ability to go through the normal four sleep stages. With true insomnia, not only will you miss out on the tremendous benefits of stage 3 sleep, you’ll soon experience the devastisting effects of general sleep deprivation.
Sleep Apnea
In the sections above I discussed that your body will not allow for stage 3 sleep if it senses a dangerous environment. You’d better believe that ‘I can’t breathe’ is a pretty powerful ‘dangerous environment’ signal. Your body simply won’t slip into deep sleep if it’s there’s a chance you’ll stop breathing in the process.
If you do suffer from sleep apnea, however, here’s an uncommon tip that might just change your life. Consider seeing a dentist that specializing in sleep apnea. By expanding the lower arch of your teeth (the space between the back teeth on the bottom) your tongue can sit in a more forward position and will be less likely to slide to the back of your through.
This is one of the most interesting, and hottest, areas of sleep enhancement today.
Restless Leg Syndrome
Few things will wake your from a deep and mighty slumber faster than a middle of the night karate kick out of nowhere. Again, this is another medical situation that requires the intervention of a licensed professional. While many people an ease of symptoms and increased relaxation with magnesium supplementation, it’s advisable to work with your healthcare provider on a supervised approach.
The Importance of Deep Sleep
I hope you’ll agree by now that Stage 3 Sleep is a pretty big deal. I call it the ultimate performance enahancer … and I do it without a hint of hyperbole.
If you want to be healthier, smarter, more successful, more attractive, more relaxed, more fit, more energetic, more muscular, more … everything, then it starts with getting more stage 3 sleep.
Aim for 1.5 to 2 hours a night. Do this consistently and watch your life change into an unrecognizable, super-version of yourself.
I make these suggestions with all due respect and humility, however. I know all of this is much easier said than done.
That’s why I wrote the Slumber Stacks guide. It’s part playbook and part workbook, helping you determine the magic combination of sleep strategies that will work uniquely for you. In doing so, you’ll lkely fasttrack your way to achieving the mightly slumber you’ve been seeking … and the mighty life that you deserve.
Scott
FAQs
What is Stage 3 sleep?
Deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep or stage 3 NREM sleep, is the sleep stage that is responsible for restorative and restful sleep. During this stage, your brain waves are at their slowest and your body experiences physical and mental healing.
Why is Stage 3 sleep important?
It helps in cellular rejuvenation, immune system functioning, and overall physical and mental recovery. It also plays a crucial role in memory consolidation and learning. Getting enough is essential for your overall well-being.
What are some tips for getting more Stage 3 sleep?
Some common tips include: create a consistent sleep schedule, maintain a comfortable sleep environment, limit exposure to electronic screens before bed, practice relaxation techniques or meditation, and avoid consuming caffeine or alcohol close to bedtime.
How can I improve my sleep quality?
To improve your sleep quality, try establishing a bedtime routine, exercising regularly, managing stress levels, and ensuring that your sleep environment is dark, cool, and quiet. Additionally, avoiding heavy meals and stimulating activities late in the day can also help improve sleep quality.
What happens if I don't get enough sleep?
Insufficient sleep can result in a range of issues, including daytime drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, impaired memory and learning, weakened immune system, increased risk of chronic diseases, and mood disturbances. It is important to prioritize getting enough sleep for your overall health and well-being.
Is it possible to increase the amount of Stage 3 sleep I get?
Absolutely. By implementing healthy sleep habits and following the tips for getting more optimal sleep, you can improve your sleep patterns and increase the duration of deep sleep you experience each night.
What are the different stages of sleep?
Sleep is divided into two main types: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep further consists of three stages: stage 1 (light sleep), stage 2 (spindles and K-complexes), and stage 3 (deep sleep or slow-wave sleep).
How does age affect sleep?
As we get older, the amount of stage 3 sleep we get tends to decrease. This is because the overall sleep pattern changes and there is a reduction in slow-wave sleep. However, implementing healthy sleep practices can help mitigate these age-related changes and improve the quality of sleep.
How many total hours of sleep should I aim to get each night?
It is recommended that adults aim for about seven to nine hours of sleep per night. But remember ... quality matter more.
What happens during the deep sleep phase?
During this phase, also known as slow-wave sleep, your heart rate and breathing slow down, your muscles relax, and your brain waves become slower. This is the deepest stage of sleep, and it is where your body does most of its restorative work.
How can I tell if I'm getting enough deep sleep?
While there is no foolproof way to measure at home, there are sleep tracking devices that can provide some insight. These devices monitor your sleep patterns and can give you an estimate of how much deep sleep you are getting each night.
What are the benefits of getting more deep sleep?
Getting more of this phase has many benefits, including improved memory and cognitive function, better mood and emotional regulation, increased immune function, and reduced risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Can sleep medicine help me get more deep sleep?
Sleep medicine, such as prescription medications or over-the-counter supplements, may help some individuals improve their sleep quality and increase the amount of stage 3 they get. It is best to consult with a healthcare professional before trying any sleep aids.
What can cause a lack of deep sleep?
There are several factors that can contribute to a lack of optimal sleep, including sleep disorders such as insomnia or sleep apnea, certain medications, stress, and lifestyle factors such as consuming too much caffeine or alcohol.
Are there any natural remedies to increase deep sleep?
Yep. Some options include practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation or deep breathing exercises, using essential oils like lavender, and incorporating certain foods and herbs known for promoting sleep, such as chamomile and valerian root.
How long does stage 3 sleep typically last?
This phase typically occurs in longer periods during the first half of the night. Each cycle of sleep lasts about 90 minutes, with around 20-25% of that time spent in stage 3. As the night progresses, the amount of deep sleep decreases, and REM sleep increases.
Comments
Scott Lindsay, founder of Jack Slumbers Sleep Co., has substantial expertise in reviewing articles and studies in the sleep space, backed by academic qualifications in Cellular, Molecular, & Microbial Biology and Neuroscience.
His deep understanding of human physiology is mirrored through his extensive experimentation with various sleep-enhancement methods.
Jack Slumbers, initiated from a passion to assist others in achieving better sleep, serves as a platform for sharing practical insights and tips.
Scott's personal journey of overcoming sleep challenges amplifies his authenticity, making him a reliable source in the sleep domain.
Scott Lindsay
Author & Founder of Jack Slumbers Sleep Co.
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