How much of each sleep category is considered needed/healthy? Is it ok to have mostly light sleep?

[Rocketr]

Just wondering if there are standards for various ages, genders, and lifestyles, that people should get some percentage-range of: REM, Light, or Deep sleep.  I tend to have mostly light sleep, with very little Deep Sleep or REM.

[WavyDavey · Accepted solution]

Hi @Rocketr,

That's an interesting question. I saw an article here that lists sleep time by age. But I didn't see anything that broke it down to sleep stages. The percentages for Fitbit users are:

I've read that with age, it becomes harder to get deep sleep especially.

[emili]

clearly I have hit that age 🙂

[punkynpye]

Bright light and lack of melatonin reduce REM and deep sleep. Try limiting electronics and lights in the evening and take melatonin pills (or drink a big glass of 100% tart cherry juice). The nice thing about your Fitbit is that you can experiment and see what works.