How to Increase REM Sleep and Improve Sleep Quality

Rapid eye movement sleep is a critical stage of your nightly sleep cycle, directly influencing cognitive performance, memory consolidation, and mood regulation. If you've noticed lower REM sleep scores on your wearable or feel mentally foggy despite getting enough hours in bed, understanding what drives this stage and how to optimize it—can help you perform at your best. This guide explains what REM sleep is, why it matters, how much you need, and the specific behaviors that increase your time in this mentally restorative stage.

What is REM sleep?

Rapid eye movement sleep is one of the four stages of sleep your body cycles through each night, alongside wake, light sleep, and deep sleep. During this stage, your brain is highly active, processing information and converting short-term memories into long-term ones. It is often referred to as mentally restorative sleep because it supports cognitive function, mood regulation, and learning.

Why REM sleep is important

REM sleep is essential for keeping your brain and body healthy, and a sufficient amount is required in order to perform at your best. It also plays an important role in mood regulation. Additionally, research suggests when people are deprived of REM sleep they are less capable of remembering things they've learned prior to falling asleep.

"If you're not getting enough REM sleep, everybody knows what a cranky toddler looks like. We control it better, but adults have that same thing." - Podcast 55: How Sleep Impacts Performance

Do I need more REM sleep?

Adults should aim to spend about 20-25% of their time asleep in REM sleep, with 90 minutes being what is commonly suggested. The chart below shows the average amount of nightly REM sleep for all people tracking it with WHOOP. The mean for everyone is 105 minutes, with the middle 50% averaging 87-124 minutes of REM per night.

The average REM sleep per night for WHOOP members.

Learn More: How Much REM Sleep Should You Get a Night?

Why am I not getting more REM sleep?

If you have concerns you're not getting enough REM sleep, these are a few potential causes (outside of sleep disorders) you should make efforts to avoid that often correlate with decreases in WHOOP members' REM:

• Feeling stressed during the day
• Late meals or eating close to sleep time
• Screened device usage in bed
• Sleeping in a new place or a bed that's not your own
• Alcohol consumption before going to sleep

"Alcohol actually disproportionately crushes REM sleep. You miss your first big REM episode, you miss a lot of slow-wave sleep, you just get a lot of light sleep. You don't achieve what the point of sleep is actually." - Podcast 43: Alcohol's Impact on Sleep and Performance

How to increase REM sleep

Generally speaking, anything you can do to improve your overall sleep quality, habits and behaviors will benefit your REM cycle too. The most basic thing is to simply spend more time in bed. Here are 45 tips to sleep better, plus some other suggestions provided by the National Sleep Foundation.

Our members have the ability to log various sleep-promoting activities in the WHOOP Journal. They can then see the impact these behaviors have on their REM sleep (and other metrics) in Monthly Performance Assessments.

What follows is a list of several things WHOOP members often find increase their REM sleep time:

• Hydrating properly over the course of the day (not before bed, which can disrupt sleep for trips to the bathroom)
• Massage therapy or a steam room that day
• Blue-light blocking glasses before bedtime
• Reading in bed (the old-fashioned way) prior to falling asleep
• Sleep mask and/or ear plugs while sleeping
• Sound machine or other white noise during sleep

Learn More: How to Get the Best Sleep (Naturally and with Supplements)

Sleep consistency and REM sleep

We've found one thing in particular that really stands out regarding how to increase REM sleep: It's a concept we call sleep consistency—going to bed and getting up at similar times each day. Your body is able to function more efficiently on a regular schedule, and that applies to your sleep schedule too.

An analysis of sleep consistency data from 25,000 WHOOP members showed a substantial rise in nightly REM sleep duration as sleep consistency percentage went up:

WHOOP members get more REM sleep as sleep consistency increases.

The WHOOP app monitors your sleep consistency from night to night, and provides in-depth analysis of it in Weekly Performance Assessments. Learn More: Maintaining Circadian Rhythm with Sleep Consistency

Monitor and improve REM sleep with WHOOP

WHOOP measures your sleep in detail each night, including precisely how much time you spend in REM and other sleep cycle stages. The app feature Sleep Planner suggests optimal daily bed and wake times to boost your sleep efficiency and better enable you to get all the REM sleep you need.

The app also offers insights and feedback based on your data trends and behaviors to help give you a more comprehensive understanding of what you can do to increase your REM sleep.

Learn More: How Much Time Should You Spend in Each Stage of Sleep?

Frequently asked questions about REM sleep

Is 30 minutes of REM sleep enough?

For most adults, 30 minutes of REM sleep falls below the recommended threshold. You should aim to spend about 20-25% of your total time asleep in this mentally restorative stage to support cognitive function and mood regulation.

How do I speed up REM sleep?

You cannot force your body to enter REM sleep faster, but you can create an environment that promotes healthy sleep cycles. Maintaining high sleep consistency, avoiding alcohol before bed, and managing daytime stress help your body transition through sleep stages naturally.

Why am I getting so little REM sleep?

Low REM sleep often stems from lifestyle factors like late meals, screen time in bed, or alcohol consumption. Alcohol disproportionately reduces REM sleep, causing you to miss restorative episodes during the night.