Many people today aren't getting the deep sleep they need to be rested and healthy.
Unfortunately, most of us don't stop long enough to really question why we don't get the sleep we need and figure out how to change that situation.
It is important enough to figure out though.
When you sleep deep your body makes full use of the stages of sleep.
Sleep is divided into roughly 5 distinct stages, each with a different function and benefit to the body and mind.
The deepest parts of sleep are where your body does most of its restoration and repair work.
That period of sleep helps to restore our energy and immune systems.
It is also where we fix damaged tissue and build muscle, bone and other cells that either need to be fixed or replaced.
A lot more goes on in our bodies while we sleep than most realize.
It also helps our brains cope with stress and other mental issues.
If we do not get deep sleep then we miss out on these benefits and find ourselves with less energy, more frequent and lasting illnesses and perhaps even increased stress levels or depression.
Yet, many people today are finding that they don't get a good nights rest.
Why? Primarily, the answer lies in our choice of lifestyle.
Too many of us work too many hours, eat poorly, don't get enough exercise and stay up late with TV or other activities.
We don't make sleep a priority.
We also tend to run ourselves ragged and continually up the stress level to the point where it keeps us from being able to wind down and turn off at night.
As a result we either don't sleep much or we sleep lightly and don't sleep deep enough to get fully recharged.
So how do we recapture our deep sleep and get rested.
As is the answer with most health issues...
you guessed it, fix our lifestyle.
We need to move sleep up a little higher on the priority list.
This means we ensure we've carved out enough hours for sleep.
7 - 8 hours is what the average adult requires for good rest.
We also need to look at our diet and exercise to make sure we are being healthy and not over doing it with things like coffee, tea or other food/drinks that work against the body's natural process of sleep.
Stress is also a huge factor in our ability to get deep sleep.
We need to look at what things are causing stress in our lives and attempt to reduce or eliminate them.
Where we can't avoid things that cause stress we need to counter them with stress reducing activities like exercise, hobbies, massage, etc.
If you can reduce your stress then it will help you get more sleep which will in turn help your body fend off stress.
There is a certain pattern to this.
If you've worked on these things and are still having trouble then you might need to discuss your situation with a medical professional.
They might be able to help you figure out what other steps you can take.
That might be anything from therapy techniques to deal with stress or depression to natural supplements that can help boost the body's natural mechanism for going to sleep.
As a word of caution, sleep medicines should be considered carefully as they tend to have more serious side effects and complications than the other solutions mentioned here.
They are sometimes useful for short term sleep issues, but don't really produce quality sleep and it is easy to become dependent on them as they don't help eliminate the root causes for sleeplessness.
Knowing that deep sleep is important and that they are plenty of options within your control to get it will hopefully help you be active in ensuring you get the rest you need.
This, like so many areas in life, is something you can effect.
You just have to be willing and diligent to do so.