In plain words
Slow-wave sleep is the deepest stage of non-dream sleep. It is hard to wake someone from it, and it appears as slow, high-amplitude brain waves on a sleep recording. Adults get most of it early in the night. It is linked to physical restoration and to memory processing, though the details are still studied. Across pregnancy, sleep studies find that slow-wave sleep becomes less common in the third trimester, and the sleep that remains is more broken up. A mother may feel her sleep is light, even when she spends long periods in bed. Slow-wave sleep is measured precisely in a sleep lab, so most mothers will not see it on a home device. Its reduction is one possible reason pregnancy sleep can feel shallow.
The deeper version
Slow-wave sleep is N3 sleep under AASM scoring, defined by slow waves of 0.5 to 2 Hz and amplitude above 75 microvolts in at least 20 percent of 30-second epochs. across pregnancy shows increasing wake after sleep onset, more stage 1 and 2 sleep, reduced slow-wave sleep, and reduced or fragmented in the third trimester (Hertz and colleagues, 1992; Lee, 1998 review). Slow-wave activity reflects homeostatic sleep pressure. Its reduction in pregnancy is hypothesized to involve hormonal change and nocturnal discomfort, including nocturia. Recovery of slow-wave sleep in the postpartum period is less well characterized than , and wearable devices estimate it with limited accuracy.
Where it comes up
- Keeping the days: photos, journals, and letting it be enoughSupport, Home, and Village
- Vivid dreams, mood swings, and crying at commercialsPregnancy: Mind and Life
- Sleep deprivation: what it does and how to survive itPostpartum: Your Body
- Sharing nights: shifts and systemsSupport, Home, and Village
What mothers here say about slow-wave sleep
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- Hertz G et al. — Sleep in normal late pregnancy. Sleep 1992
- Lee KA — Alterations in sleep during pregnancy and postpartum: a review. Sleep Medicine Reviews (1998)