My grandma uses her Apple Watch to track her sleep and noticed she only gets a few minutes of deep sleep each night. She’s worried because deep sleep helps with memory. We’ve tried magnesium and melatonin, but they didn’t help. Has anyone else dealt with this and found ways to improve deep sleep (using Apple Watch data)?
Deep sleep usually gets shorter as we get older. It might be a good idea to talk to a doctor about it and share the watch data.
Deep sleep matters, but remember that REM sleep is for memory, and deep sleep is for body recovery. Exercising during the day and getting sunlight can help improve deep sleep by balancing your body’s sleep cycle.
Cutting back on drinks before bed is tough for me. I like to relax with some weed at night, but dry mouth makes it hard to drink less.
Charlie said:
Cutting back on drinks before bed is tough for me. I like to relax with some weed at night, but dry mouth makes it hard to drink less.
I can eat and drink a lot before bed and still sleep deeply. Everyone’s body reacts differently. But using THC before bed can actually lower deep and REM sleep.
@Paris
How old are you?
Apple Watches aren’t very accurate for tracking sleep stages. Their data is mostly designed for younger, healthy people. The watch might just be misreading the sleep data.
She should bring this up with her doctor. It’s normal for deep sleep to decrease with age.
Getting only a few minutes of deep sleep is pretty normal, especially for older people.
I use the Pillow app with my Apple Watch, and it shows way more deep sleep than Apple Health. Maybe try a different app?
This is a watch forum, not a medical one. You should ask a doctor.
Jensen said:
This is a watch forum, not a medical one. You should ask a doctor.
This is actually good advice, but of course it gets downvoted.
@Caiden
Then maybe try a sleep forum instead of this one. And my comment wasn’t rude or dumb, but yours was.
Jensen said:
This is a watch forum, not a medical one. You should ask a doctor.
I’m a doctor, and this really should be talked about with a physician. Cutting back on caffeine or improving the sleep environment is fine, but anything more should be checked by a doctor.
Getting enough total sleep can help with deep sleep. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. Also, things like exercising, cutting back on caffeine, keeping the bedroom cool and dark, and relaxing before bed can all help. A warm bath or listening to calming sounds might work too.
@Hero
This sounds like AI wrote it.
How do you know that?
Would your grandma be open to trying weed gummies?