— THE RILAX SLEEP GUIDE —
You went to bed on time. So why does the morning still feel like it came too soon? The answer can lie in how long you actually slept, how often your sleep was interrupted or whether your sleep schedule matched your body clock.
Restorative sleep is sleep that leaves you feeling rested and able to get through your day. Pay attention to how much sleep you get, how well you sleep and how consistent your schedule is.
While you sleep, your brain processes what you learned and helps store memories. Sleep also supports your immune system and gives your body time for repair. The next day, you may notice the difference in your focus, mood and reaction time.
— 01 · THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP —
Most nights, you cycle through non-REM and REM sleep four to six times. A cycle usually takes about 80 to 100 minutes. Deep sleep is generally more common early in the night, and REM periods tend to get longer towards morning.
N3 is deep sleep. The chart shows one example. Sleep stages and their timing vary from night to night.
N1
The brief transition from wakefulness to sleep. If you’ve ever nodded off on the sofa and startled awake, you may have caught yourself in this transition.
N2
You’re asleep. Your heart rate and breathing slow, and your body temperature drops as you settle into this stage of non-REM sleep.
N3
Brain activity slows into a pattern called slow-wave sleep. It’s harder to wake you in this stage, which is associated with tissue repair.
REM
Your brain becomes more active and vivid dreams are common. Both REM and non-REM sleep help you learn and form memories.
Brief awakenings between cycles can be normal. How easily you fall back asleep and how you feel during the day tell you more than a single wake-up.
Two systems help decide when you’re ready for sleep. Sleep pressure builds the longer you’re awake and eases while you sleep. Your body clock helps time when you feel alert or sleepy, using cues such as daylight and darkness.
Think of an early Monday bedtime after a weekend of late nights and late mornings. You may feel tired while your body clock is still running on the weekend’s schedule. Late caffeine, an afternoon nap, work stress or a change of shift can also make it harder to settle.
— 02 · CHECK WITH YOURSELF —
Think back over the past week. A pattern across several nights tells you more than one rough morning.
Once you’re up and moving, do you feel alert? Notice whether you regularly lose focus or doze off during meetings, while reading or in front of the TV.
From 11 pm to 7 am is eight hours in bed. If you took 30 minutes to fall asleep and were awake for another 30 minutes overnight, you slept about seven hours.
Look for a pattern. Do you struggle after a late teh tarik, on nights you work late or when the room is warm or noisy? Pick one thing to change and see how the next few nights go.
Sleep needs change with age. These are the CDC’s daily sleep recommendations for adults.
— 03 · TRY IT FOR A WEEK —
Use a notebook or your phone to keep a quick record each morning.
At the end of the week, look for something that kept coming up. Take the diary to your appointment if sleep problems continue.
If you wear an Apple Watch, Garmin or Huawei watch to bed, use the sleep app to check when you fell asleep and woke up, and how long you slept. These are estimates, and features vary by model.
Compare seven nights on the same device and note how alert you felt each day. For example, do later bedtimes tend to go with shorter nights and more sluggish mornings?
Yes. Brief awakenings between cycles are common, and you may not remember them. Repeated long awakenings or regular daytime sleepiness are worth discussing with a healthcare professional.
Your watch estimates deep sleep from signals such as movement and heart rate. A sleep study uses brain activity to identify sleep stages. Brands can also calculate sleep scores differently, so treat a single stage reading or score as a rough guide. If you regularly feel sleepy during the day, discuss it with a healthcare professional.
You may have slept for fewer hours than you think, or your sleep may have been interrupted. Timing matters too, especially if you work shifts. If you regularly feel sleepy despite getting enough sleep, speak with a healthcare professional.
The CDC gives these daily ranges for children and teens.
Talk to a healthcare professional if you often struggle to fall or stay asleep, or if you regularly feel sleepy despite allowing enough time for sleep. Mention frequent loud snoring, gasping or pauses in breathing that someone has noticed. These can be signs of sleep apnoea.
If you feel too sleepy to drive safely, stop somewhere safe or arrange another way to travel.
Rilax® is a health supplement formulated to improve sleep quality and promote relaxation. Two clinical trials evaluated the finished RLX2™ formulation. You can read what the researchers measured and found on our clinical studies page.