What is slow wave sleep?

Slow wave sleep is the deepest stage of non-REM sleep where your body heals itself. My thyroid imbalance used to ruin this deep sleep phase, so I highly recommend getting your hormone levels tested if you always wake up tired.

As we grow older, our deep slow wave sleep naturally decreases. Don't worry too much if you don't sleep 8 hours straight like in your youth; just resting your body calmly in bed is also very helpful.

This deep sleep is essential for keeping your blood pressure under control. When my BP was high, my doctor emphasized improving my sleep hygiene to get more of this slow wave sleep, along with my daily medication.

Basically, slow wave sleep is your stage 3 deep sleep where your brain waves slow down completely. This is when tissue repair and immune system boosting happen, so avoiding caffeine late in the day is highly recommended.

It's just the deep sleep phase where your body physically recovers after heavy workouts. I notice on my fitness tracker that if I eat a heavy dinner right before bed, my slow wave sleep time drops drastically.

Slow wave sleep sounds like a luxury lifestyle that I can't afford with my current schedule. Honestly, my brain waves are constantly in high-speed panic mode, I don't even remember what deep sleep feels like.

I used to ignore waking up tired every day, thinking sleep is just sleep. It turned out my lack of deep slow wave sleep was due to sleep apnea, which almost ruined my health. Please get a proper checkup done if you never feel refreshed.