Sharing some sleep data thread - increasing REM

disclaimers: I know the sleep tracking isn't perfect, but its as good as one can get from wrist data. I also have long ago turned off the blood ox measure due to it being way wacky.

I have been trying to improve my amount of REM sleep and watching it closely. I get anywhere from almost an hour (rare) and usually way less. My deep sleep is always good. My wakes range but are not too bad...but at least once or twice a night. (50 year old needs to pee).

Its the REM I am most interested in impacting. I have confirmed that when I wake from a dream and note the time, it matches very well when the Fenix thought I was in REM....so I feel like its pretty good estimate of that stage of sleep.

Last night I scored an overall 76 which is pretty typical for mid week and no booze. It says I got 7 minutes of REM! This was with no alcohol, reasonable bed time etc. I am changing my pre bed screen time, trying some sleep supplements to see if I can impact it. I expect when I drink on the weekends that my scores are going to be very low but the REM thing is bugging me.

Yes, good sleep conditions, cool temp, ear plugs and good and dark.

What do others see on the REM side?

0 Markyz85 over 3 years ago

Hello, my sleep detection usualy says short deep sleep (mostly under hour) and very long REM (usualy between 2 to 4 hours). These numbers are prety much the same during last few monhts no matter how I train, or what I do. Even if I get high sleep score for example 91 there weer just 45 mins of deep sleep (bad) and over 3 hrs of REM (average)

0 TobiasLj over 3 years ago

Hi cwoodffr

Interesting. I've also noticed a change in REM sleep since the new sleeping scores where introduced and honestly I think that the way it tracks sleep now is better than ever before. Of course there are exceptions but overall much better. It is also nice to see how the restlessness affects the sleeping score even though total sleep time and time in stages are very good.

My REM are always low compared to optimal, sometimes 0 or just a few minutes but on the other hand I know that I haven't slept very well over the last months. Mostly due to work and stress but also due to lighter injury and a cold. This is from last nigh, which is very good for me but still low on REM:

0 cwoodffr over 3 years ago in reply to TobiasLj

Thanks for sharing!

Last night I had a couple of glasses of wine over dinner and interestingly got higher than average (for me) REM. I had a restless night for sure but also some vivid dreams which definitely matched the times it said I was in REM because I woke after the first one. I do not believe I as awake for a full hour, rather restless.

0 LajosL over 3 years ago in reply to cwoodffr

Hi, I see similar: when drinking some glasses of wine, my REM increases and deepsleep decreases. With no wine the deep lasts longer and REM decreases.

0 TobiasLj over 3 years ago in reply to LajosL

LajosL said:
I see similar: when drinking some glasses of wine, my REM increases and deepsleep decreases.

Yes, alcohol has a big impact on sleep quality but it differs from person to person. I notice a big change in stress and restlessness a night after a couple of drinks but it requires a lot to change the relation between different sleep patterns.