If you’re one of those people who always oversleep and miss important appointments and meetings, or you live with someone whose alarm wakes up everyone them, you might to learn about a trick or two, to overcome this problem. Read this article to find out more about a heavy sleeper and how to wake them up.
What is considered deep sleep?
In order to understand what deep sleep is, you need to know about sleep cycle and sleep stages. In a nutshell, we have 4 main stages in each sleep cycle, and each sleep cycle takes about 90 minutes to complete, though it can vary for everyone. Each person will go through 4 to 6 cycles each night depending on how much they sleep.
Basically, in the third stage, the NREM or the slow-wave sleep, people experience deep sleep and their body movement decreases. So, t’s hard to wake them up. This stage lasts about 20-40 minutes in each cycle.
Heavy sleepers experience the signs of third stage more often than light sleepers.
Why are some people heavy sleepers?
Genetics
Genetic predisposition plays an essential role in sleep patterns an depth. And some people are naturally heavy sleepers due to their genetic makeup.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle and habits can significantly affect your sleep. Factors like physical exhaustion, stress, poor sleep hygiene( too much caffeine intake, irregular sleep schedules, etc) and using electronic devices right before bed can impact sleep cycle and depth.
Age
Studies1 shows that younger individuals spend more time in deep sleep than older people. Older people tend sleep less and wake up more often during their sleep, since they have a shorter deep sleep
Sleep cycle
As it was mentioned, people can have different sleep cycles. Some people spend more time in the third stage which is the deep sleep, and they’re harder to wake.
hormone imbalance
People with deep sleep are more likely to have hormone imbalance especially melatonin (sleep hormone).
Effective ways to wake up as a heavy sleeper
1. Loud alarms
The first thing you can do to be able to wake up from a heavy sleep, is to have a loud alarm. But try setting an alarm that gradually gets louder instead of an alarm that suddenly goes off. This can prevent you from waking up with a headache.
You can also place the alarm far from your bed so you have to get out of bed in order to be able to turn it off. But deep sleep aside, it’s always recommended to put your phone far from your bed to reduce the radiation of them and its effects on your mind and body.
There are also so many alarm apps with different features that help you fully wake up. Some apps require you to solve a short math problem, shake the phone, type particular words and so on, in order to turn off the alarm. These tasks can help your brain to regain its consciousness and make it hard to fall back to sleep.
2. Water splash right after waking up
If you’re heavy sleeper, try pouring water in your face immediately after you wake up. You can also try it on someone who has a deep sleep. Though first make sure that they have sense of humor!
3. Let there be light
It’s very helpful to transition your bedroom from a cozy, dark place to sleep in, to a cold and bright place. After waking up, open your blinds and curtains to get some light in your room. Also, light exposure after waking up, can significantly reduces your chances to go back to sleep as it can balance your melatonin.
4. Use the 5-second rule
Ok, before you judge this rule, let me tell you that it actually is very helpful. You see, your mind can easily trick you in to doing the easy thing. Staying in bed is way more comfortable than getting out of it. And your brain cares about your survival. So that is a better choice for it.
Mel Robbins explains the 5-second rule in her book: All you need to do is to count down from 5 to 1 and then immediately act. This way you don’t give you brain the time to come up with excuses and reasons not to act. Its’s a very simple trick and just as helpful. Mel Robbins2 explains the 5-second rule in her book: All you need to do is to count down from 5 to 1 and then immediately act. This way you don’t give you brain the time to come up with excuses and reasons not to act. Its’s a very simple trick and just as helpful.
You are just five seconds away from a totally different life.
–Mel Robbins
5. Understand the sleep cycle and calculate the waking time
It’s important to know the sleep cycle and how it works. Like it was mentioned, each sleep cycle is about 90 minutes and each individual goes through about 4 to 6 cycke each night. The recommendation here, is to have completed cycles before waking up. Waking up in the middle of a cycle can actually make you more tired even though you probably slept more. That’s why you sometimes get 8 hours of sleep and you’re still tired.
For example, if you fall asleep at 11 p.m., it’s best to wake up at 6:30. Waking up at 7 can actually make you feel more tired even though you slept 30 minutes more. Because you woke up in the middle of your cycle, not at the end.
Also, Things like staying up till the middle of the night can mess up your circadian rhythm. So, being a night owl has its drawbacks.
6. Consistent morning routine
Having a consistent and back-to-back morning schedule can help you find purpose for waking up. Otherwise, you will go right back to sleep.
7. Get it moving
Doing some physical activity after waking up is a very effective way to stay awake after waking up from a heavy sleep. Try stretch your muscles, doing some jumping jacks and other easy movements.
8. Find a sense of urgency or strong motivation
Listen, if you don’t have to wake up, you won’t. It’s as simple as that. So, if you try to find a sense of urgency in the morning to help you wake up or a motivation, you will be more successful in getting yourself to wake up.
If you schedule to do the most important thing in the morning right after waking up, then it won’t be easy for you to get up and go right back to sleep.
9. Keep yourself hydrated
Drinking enough water during the day and before going to sleep, can always help your sleep quality.
10. Medical consultation
It’s important to take care of any sleep disorders and medical conditions that can lead to an excessive deep sleep. Disorders like sleep apnea or hypersomnia can potentially lead to sleepiness and heavy sleep.
How to wake up a heavy sleeper?
Waking up a sleepwalker
Though it is usually suggested to not wake up someone when they’re sleep walking, that information is not entirely true. But there’s the right way and the wrong way.
Usually, sleepwalking happens during the third stage of sleep, where our muscles have not been completely paralyzed yet and the sleep is not deep yet. It usually happens during the first few hours of sleep.
If you want to wake a sleepwalker, it’s important to not do anything to trigger them in to a stressful mode, as they might feel like they’re being attacked. So, avoid shaking them to wake up. What you can do, is to make loud noises from a distance.
Waking up a heavy sleeping child or new-born
If your baby is a heavy sleeper, and you want to wake them up, it’s important to not do it in a stressful way. You can gently rub their back or legs to wake them.
Also keeping a consistent sleep schedule, makes it easier for them to wake up in the morning.
Is it bad to wake up from deep sleep?
Waking up from a deep sleep means you probably woke up in the middle of your sleep cycle. This leads to feeling tired, low energy and poor brain function during the day.
It is also more difficult to let go of your comfy bed when you wake up in the middle of a deep sleep, and it’s more likely that you crawl right back to sleep again.
FAQ about waking up a heavy sleeper
Is heavy sleeping a disorder?
Heavy sleeping can be a disorder if it’s really sever. Things like hypersomnia can lead to heavy sleeping.
Is it possible to stop being a deep sleeper?
Yes. by changing your lifestyle and consulting a doctor, you can change your sleep state. Medications prescribed by doctors can also help with the process.
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