You cannot reliably make your brain produce a chosen amount or percentage of REM sleep. The useful goal is to protect the whole sleep period and address anything that shortens or repeatedly interrupts it. If a wearable reports “low REM,” do not treat the number with alcohol, cannabis, sedatives, supplements, or a medication change.
A consumer stage estimate is not a diagnosis. Neither are fatigue, irritability, poor concentration, memory trouble, vivid dreams, or not remembering dreams. Those experiences can occur with insufficient sleep, fragmented sleep, medication effects, mood conditions, medical illness, or several sleep disorders. The next step depends on the sleep history and daytime effect, not on proving a REM deficit at home.
What REM numbers do and do not mean
REM, or rapid eye movement sleep, is one part of normal sleep architecture. It recurs among the three non-REM stages across the sleep period. Brain activity is relatively active, rapid eye movements can occur, and muscle tone is normally low. REM episodes tend to be more concentrated later in the sleep period, while deep non-REM sleep is more concentrated earlier 1.
That later timing explains one practical point: routinely ending sleep early can remove part of the night in which longer REM episodes commonly occur. It does not mean that sleeping late on one morning will correct a tracker score or that every person needs the same number of REM minutes.
The often-repeated figures of 20 to 25 percent or 90 to 120 minutes are broad descriptions of adult group data, not individual prescriptions. REM amount and timing vary with age, total sleep, sleep timing, health, substances, medicines, and the conditions of measurement. A large meta-analysis of objective sleep studies found age-related changes in several aspects of sleep architecture, including REM percentage 2. A group average therefore cannot define the correct result for one person on one night.
There is also no clinical rule that a higher REM percentage is always better. Percentage can rise simply because another part of the sleep period became shorter. Clinicians interpret stage findings alongside breathing, movements, awakenings, total sleep, medicines, symptoms, and the reason for testing.
A wearable estimate is different from a sleep study
Clinical polysomnography records multiple body signals. A standard study uses brain activity, eye movements, and muscle tone to stage sleep, along with respiratory, oxygen, heart, and movement channels selected for the clinical question 3. Many watches, rings, apps, and bedside devices instead infer stages from movement, pulse signals, or other indirect measurements processed by a proprietary algorithm.
That difference matters most at the stage level. In a laboratory study of 34 healthy young adults over three nights, seven consumer devices varied in performance, produced inconsistent stage assessments, and generally performed worse during disrupted sleep 4. Results from those devices do not establish how every newer device works, but they show why a displayed REM value should not be treated as a direct measurement.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine states that consumer sleep technology should not be used to diagnose or treat sleep disorders, although patient-generated data may help a clinical conversation when considered with a proper evaluation 5.
If tracking is useful to you, focus first on patterns you can verify:
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when you tried to sleep and when you got up
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whether the sleep opportunity was long enough
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remembered awakenings and likely causes
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naps, shift changes, travel, alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, nicotine, and medicine timing
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snoring, gasping, unusual movements, dream enactment, or morning headaches reported by you or a bed partner
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daytime sleepiness and how it affects work, school, caregiving, or driving
A stage trend can be included in that record, but do not let it overrule how you function or trigger a nightly attempt to manipulate the score. Device fit, firmware, algorithms, and sleep conditions can change the estimate.
A practical way to support normal REM sleep
1. Allow enough time for sleep
Protect a sleep opportunity that fits your age, health, and actual sleep need. For healthy adults, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommend regularly obtaining at least seven hours of sleep, while recognizing that individual needs vary 6.
Count backward from the time you must get up and include realistic time for winding down and falling asleep. If the current schedule repeatedly cuts sleep short, extending the opportunity is more meaningful than chasing a stage percentage. It gives the normal sequence of stages, including later REM periods, room to occur.
More time in bed is not always the answer. If you already allow enough time but spend long periods awake, have frequent awakenings, or remain impaired during the day, investigate the cause rather than extending the schedule indefinitely.
2. Use a workable sleep-wake schedule
Keep the wake time and sleep opportunity reasonably stable across the week when your responsibilities allow. The aim is a schedule that agrees with your body clock and can be repeated, not identical bedtimes to the minute.
Shift work, jet lag, delayed sleep timing, early sleep timing, and irregular obligations can place attempted sleep at odds with circadian timing. If the mismatch is persistent or disruptive, a clinician can help distinguish a circadian rhythm disorder from insomnia or insufficient sleep. Do not use a REM score alone to choose the timing of light, melatonin, or other circadian treatment.
3. Work on the cause of fragmentation
Noise, light, temperature, pain, caregiving, reflux, urinary symptoms, and a partner or pet may interrupt sleep. Make proportionate changes aimed at the actual disturbance. There is no universal screen cutoff, bedroom temperature, meal deadline, exercise time, or light-blocking routine that specifically increases REM.
Persistent difficulty falling asleep, repeated waking, or waking earlier than intended can fit an insomnia pattern. Loud habitual snoring, witnessed breathing pauses, gasping, daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, and repeated nighttime urination can point toward sleep apnea. NHLBI advises discussing these symptoms with a healthcare provider because a sleep study may be needed 7.
Treating a diagnosed disorder is meant to improve health, symptoms, and sleep continuity. A change in stage distribution may follow, but it is not the sole treatment goal.
4. Review substances without using them as stage tools
Alcohol may shorten the time it takes to fall asleep at higher doses, but that sedation is not the same as healthy sleep. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found delayed REM onset and reduced REM duration after presleep alcohol, with larger disruption at higher doses 8. Do not use alcohol to initiate sleep or to manipulate a stage.
Evidence about cannabis and sleep architecture is less consistent than simple “suppresses REM” claims suggest. A 2025 systematic review found mixed results during cannabis administration, while withdrawal was more consistently linked to disturbed sleep and REM rebound; studies differed in dose, cannabinoid composition, prior use, and health conditions 9. Cannabis should not be started, increased, reduced, or stopped simply to alter REM. If regular use, withdrawal, or dependence is a concern, ask a clinician for a safe plan.
Caffeine and nicotine can interfere with sleep, but sensitivity, amount, product, and timing differ. Adjust them to protect sleep onset and continuity rather than following a universal evening cutoff or assuming they selectively block REM.
5. Put medication benefit and safety ahead of a stage score
Some prescription medicines alter REM timing or amount. The effect varies by drug, dose, timing, duration, the condition being treated, and the individual. A 2026 review of antidepressants, for example, found class-specific effects on REM measures, sleep continuity, and daytime symptoms, with important differences among medicines 10.
A lower tracker estimate does not show that a helpful medicine is harming the brain or that its dose should change. Clinical benefit, side effects, daytime safety, and control of the underlying condition matter more than optimizing one estimated stage.
Do not skip, reduce, stop, or reschedule a prescription on your own. Changing some medicines abruptly can cause withdrawal, return of the treated condition, or other harm. Review the full list of prescriptions, over-the-counter products, cannabis, alcohol, herbs, and supplements with the prescriber or pharmacist 11.
6. Skip supposed REM boosters
No specific food, tryptophan-rich meal, magnesium supplement, relaxation exercise, yoga routine, workout, blackout curtain, mattress, pillow, or cotton or bamboo bedding has been shown to let a person reliably target a healthy amount of REM sleep.
Food, movement, relaxation, and a comfortable bedroom can still support general health or make sleep easier for some people. Use them for those reasons, not as stage treatments. Melatonin, valerian, magnesium, and other supplements should not be added to correct a wearable REM result. They have different evidence, risks, interactions, and product-quality issues, and none establishes a personal REM requirement.
When a clinical evaluation is more useful than another score
A low wearable value by itself usually does not call for polysomnography. A clinician chooses testing from the symptoms, medical history, sleep schedule, examination, and suspected disorder. Bring a short sleep diary, medication and substance list, and any bed-partner observations. Tracker data can come too, as supporting context.
Seek an evaluation when any of these patterns persists:
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adequate sleep opportunity but disabling sleepiness, fatigue, cognitive difficulty, or impaired daily function
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chronic trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking at the needed time
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loud snoring, gasping, witnessed breathing pauses, or repeated unexplained awakenings
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a sleep schedule that remains badly misaligned with work, school, or required wake time
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recurrent sleep paralysis or vivid hallucinations at sleep onset or awakening together with severe daytime sleepiness, sudden sleep episodes, or emotion-triggered muscle weakness
Severe daytime sleepiness plus sleep paralysis or sleep-related hallucinations can occur in narcolepsy, although those symptoms do not diagnose it by themselves. NHLBI describes these features and notes that diagnosis requires a clinical assessment and specialized sleep testing 12.
Dream enactment needs a different response
Shouting, punching, kicking, jumping from bed, or otherwise acting out dreams is not evidence that you need more REM. Recurrent behavior, especially when it causes injury or begins later in adulthood, warrants prompt medical assessment. REM sleep behavior disorder, other parasomnias, sleep apnea, seizures, medicines, and substances can produce overlapping histories, and the distinction may require video polysomnography.
Until assessed, reduce injury risk. Remove weapons and sharp or breakable objects, move or pad hazardous furniture, protect against falls, and consider sleeping separately if a bed partner is at risk. The AASM's clinical guideline makes a safe sleep environment a core part of REM sleep behavior disorder management 13.
Do not drive through sleepiness
If you are struggling to stay awake, do not drive or operate dangerous equipment. Pull over safely and arrange another way to travel. A tracker cannot clear you to drive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration emphasizes that adequate sleep is the only reliable foundation for preventing drowsy driving and that caffeine alone may not overcome serious sleep deprivation 14.
The bottom line
The best way to “get more REM” is to stop treating REM as a score you can optimize. Protect enough time for sleep, use a schedule you can sustain, address repeated disruption, and review relevant substances and medicines safely. If sleep or daytime function remains poor, investigate the cause. A diagnosis and treatment plan should follow the person and the symptoms, not a consumer stage percentage.
