The proportion of time you should probably spend in each sleep stage varies with age.
Long before electronic devices emerged for measuring sleep, people could often sense whether they got enough rest.
What Is Sleep Inertia?

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Waking up during deep sleep, especially if you havent had enough deep sleep, often causes sleep inertia.
Diagnostic tests and tests of at-home devices can also detect if you have had enough sleep.
A comprehensivepolysomnogramis a diagnostic sleep study usually done in a sleep laboratory.
Using these parameters, a sleep study can estimate your time in each sleep state.
These devices provide a range of accuracy regarding your sleep stages.
Additionally, your body goes through measurable physical changes.
The brain wave changes correlate with changes in heart rate, body temperature, and physical movements.
Is REM or Deep Sleep Better?
Theres really no way to designate any sleep stage as being better than the others.
All sleep stages are important for your memory and for your emotional and physical well-being.
Additionally, repairing any injuries or damage to your bodys tissues helps prevent long-term disease.
Children experience a lot of growth during deep sleep.
What Happens If You Dont Get Enough Deep Sleep?
If you dont get enough deep sleep, you will likely feel tired the next day.
You might feel sluggish, grumpy, agitated, or have trouble concentrating.
Sleep Latency
Sleep latencyis the amount of time it takes you to fall asleep.
For typical healthy adults, it is between 10 and 20 minutes.
Alcoholand caffeine are two common substances that interfere with deep sleep.
Summary
Deep sleep is important for your health, and even for your survival.
Sleep Foundation.Stages of sleep.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About sleep.