We spend around a third of our lives sleeping. Yet many people give little thought to the role these hours play in our well-being.
I learned early on at my father's pharmacy how often people come in with sleep problems: they lie awake for hours in the evening, wake up during the night, or feel as if they've been hit by a truck in the morning. Good sleep isn't a matter of luck, though; it's the result of biological processes that we can support with the right knowledge and routines.
This article gives you a comprehensive overview: sleep stages, your internal clock, how much sleep you really need, what happens when you don't get enough sleep, and which strategies can help you enjoy more restful nights. I'll also introduce three products from our workshop, including our Night Rest Complex with melatonin, as melatonin helps reduce the time it takes to fall asleep (when taken at a dose of 1 mg shortly before bedtime).
NIGHT REST COMPLEX — Melatonin with Botanical Ingredients
Night Rest Complex with melatonin in a carefully designed formula, complemented by L-tryptophan, passionflower, lemon balm, hops, and B vitamins.
✓ Melatonin (1 mg): helps reduce the time it takes to fall asleep
✓ With passionflower, lemon balm, and hops: time-honoured plants from European herbal tradition
✓ L-tryptophan, a naturally occurring amino acid
✓ B vitamins: contribute to the normal functioning of the nervous system
✓ Made in our German workshop · no unnecessary additives
→ Discover the Night Rest Complex
Das Wichtigste in Kürze
- We spend around a third of our lives asleep — it unfolds in cycles of light, deep, and REM phases.
- The need for sleep is individual; most adults are between seven and nine hours.
- Melatonin helps shorten the time it takes to fall asleep (when taken at 1 mg shortly before bedtime).
- If sleep problems persist, medical evaluation is the right first step — supplements do not replace it.
Why sleep is so important and what happens in your body
Sleep isn't a passive state in which your body simply switches off. On the contrary: complex restorative processes take place while you sleep. The brain cleans itself by removing metabolic waste through the so-called glymphatic system. Muscles recover, hormone production is in full swing, and the brain processes the day's experiences.
Restful sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, alongside a balanced diet and regular exercise. People who regularly sleep well feel more alert and balanced during the day, and their concentration and reaction times are measurably better after a good night's sleep.
Sleep isn't wasted time; it's a biological necessity.
Understanding the sleep stages: from N1 through deep sleep to REM
Your brain goes through several sleep cycles of around 90 minutes each night. Healthy adults typically go through four to five of these cycles. Each cycle consists of several stages that differ significantly in brain activity, breathing and heart rate, and muscle tone.
N1 and N2: light sleep
The first stage is N1, the dozing-off stage. It lasts only a few minutes and marks the transition from wakefulness to sleep; you're still easy to wake at this point. This is followed by N2, light sleep, which accounts for around 45 to 55 percent of your sleep. Your body temperature drops, blood pressure falls, and your muscles relax further. A characteristic feature is sleep spindles on the EEG: brief wave patterns associated with memory consolidation.
N3: deep sleep
After light sleep comes deep sleep (N3, or slow-wave sleep), the most physically restorative stage. The pituitary gland releases growth hormones that regulate muscle recovery and cell repair. Blood pressure drops to its lowest point, and energy consumption is at its lowest. Deep sleep is especially prevalent in the first half of the night, which is why the early hours of the night are considered particularly restorative.
REM sleep: the dream stage
Deep sleep is followed by the REM stage (Rapid Eye Movement), with rapid eye movements, brain activity similar to that of wakefulness, and temporarily paralysed skeletal muscles. Most dreams happen during this stage. Studies show that REM sleep plays a central role in emotional processing and long-term memory. REM periods get longer as the night goes on: the first lasts only a few minutes, while the last one before waking can last 30 to 60 minutes.
💡 INFO A healthy adult goes through around four to five sleep cycles of 90 minutes each per night. Deep sleep predominates in the first half of the night, and REM sleep in the second. |
Your internal clock and circadian rhythm
Your sleep is controlled by a highly precise internal clock. This circadian rhythm is based in the hypothalamus, specifically the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and regulates almost all bodily processes over a 24-hour cycle: body temperature, hormone release, metabolic rate, and, of course, your sleep-wake cycle.
Light is the most important time cue. When daylight reaches the retina, the hypothalamus suppresses the release of the sleep hormone melatonin. As darkness falls in the evening, melatonin begins to be released, bringing on drowsiness and eventually sleep. Modern habits, with artificial lighting and blue screen light late into the evening, significantly disrupt this ancient rhythm and are one of the main causes of today's sleep problems.
How much sleep do you really need?
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the National Sleep Foundation draw clear recommendations from hundreds of studies. Healthy adults should get 7 to 9 hours per night. Individual needs can vary within this range:
- Infants: 14 to 17 hours a day
- Toddlers: 11 to 14 hours
- School-age children: 9 to 11 hours
- Teenagers: 8 to 10 hours; needs increase during puberty due to hormonal changes
- Adults: 7 to 9 hours; most do best with 7 to 8 hours
- Older adults: similar sleep needs, but sleep is often more fragmented
Why sleep changes as you get older
Older adults often worry when they no longer sleep as continuously as they used to. This is usually no cause for concern. As we age, the distribution of sleep stages shifts: deep sleep decreases, waking during the night becomes more frequent, and sleep becomes lighter. Many people make up for this with short naps, which is generally not a problem.
Sleep deprivation and its effects
Chronic sleep deprivation is no trivial matter. Staying awake longer than your body needs puts you in a state of subtle, ongoing alarm. The hormonal system becomes unbalanced, cortisol levels rise, and blood sugar metabolism slows down. Surveys in Germany show that around a third of adults regularly get less sleep than they need.
Immediate effects after one night
Even a single night of too little sleep leaves its mark. Concentration and reaction times are measurably reduced, your mood suffers, and you become sleepy and irritable. Drowsiness is now recognised as a serious road safety hazard, comparable to a low blood alcohol level.
Can you catch up on sleep?
A widespread myth claims that you can simply catch up on sleep at the weekend. That's only partly true. After acute, one-off sleep deprivation, a weekend of longer sleep can indeed help you recover to some extent. But chronic sleep debt can't be made up this way, because certain restorative processes happen at specific times. If you regularly don't get enough sleep, you need to make a structural change.
If you regularly don't get enough sleep, you need to make a structural change, not just stay in bed longer at the weekend.
Recognising sleep disorders: when poor sleep becomes a real problem
Everyone has a bad night now and then; that's normal. A sleep disorder is only considered present when the problems persist for weeks and affect everyday life. The most common form is insomnia, the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep. Other forms include obstructive sleep apnoea, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, and parasomnias (such as sleepwalking). The International Classification of Sleep Disorders lists more than 80 different sleep disorders.
A quick self-check
A few questions can help you decide whether your sleep needs more attention:
- Do you regularly take a long time to fall asleep?
- Do you wake up several times during the night or lie awake for a long time?
- Do you wake up very early in the morning and find you can't get back to sleep?
- Do you find it hard to concentrate during the day, or are you more irritable than usual?
If several of these apply for weeks, it's worth taking a closer look at your sleep hygiene. If you experience any of the following warning signs, you should see a doctor.
When to seek medical advice
Typical warning signs that mean you should see a doctor:
- Difficulty falling asleep for several weeks
- Pauses in breathing at night or loud snoring accompanied by daytime sleepiness
- Severe daytime sleepiness despite getting enough sleep
- Recurring nightmares that affect your well-being
- Restless legs that keep you from falling asleep in the evening
Important: Sleep disorders are medical diagnoses that need to be assessed and treated individually. If you suspect you have one, the first step is to consult a doctor, ideally your GP, who may refer you to a sleep specialist or sleep clinic. Food supplements are not a substitute for diagnosis or medical treatment. |
Sleep hygiene: the foundations of restful nights
Sleep hygiene refers to the habits and environmental factors that promote restful sleep. The good news: most sleep problems can be significantly improved this way, without sleeping pills. The principles are simple, but putting them into practice takes discipline.
A regular bedtime
Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends. Nothing stabilises your internal clock as effectively. Ideally, go to bed between 10 and 11 p.m. so that your first, particularly deep sleep cycle begins before midnight. Keep variations to less than an hour, and consciously start winding down one to two hours before bed.
Your sleep environment
Your bedroom should be cool, dark, and quiet; 16 to 18 degrees is ideal. Rooms that are too warm interfere with deep sleep because your body can't lower its core temperature enough. Invest in good curtains or a sleep mask, choose a suitable mattress, keep screens out of the bedroom, and put your smartphone away at least an hour before bed.
Diet and caffeine
Caffeine has a half-life of five to seven hours. If you have an espresso at 8 p.m., half of it is still in your bloodstream at midnight. Avoid coffee, black tea, and other caffeinated drinks after 2 to 3 p.m. Alcohol is also counterproductive: it may make you sleepy, but it suppresses REM sleep. Heavy meals shortly before bed put a strain on digestion. Regular daytime exercise helps you wind down more easily in the evening; ideally, finish at least three hours before bedtime.
Relaxation techniques
Many people find it hard to switch off in the evening. Racing thoughts, worries, and planning keep them awake. Progressive muscle relaxation, guided meditations, or breathing techniques such as 4-7-8 breathing can help calm your system. A sleep diary or a list of thoughts before bed can also help clear your mind. If you regularly struggle with racing thoughts, cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) can often help.
A simple rule from sleep medicine: if you're still awake after about 20 minutes, get up and do something relaxing in dim light, such as reading. Go back to bed only when you feel sleepy. This helps your brain associate bed with sleep rather than lying awake.
Screens and blue light in the evening
Smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs, and monitors emit light with a high proportion of blue wavelengths, around 460 to 480 nanometres, which is exactly the range your internal clock is most sensitive to. When this light reaches your retina in the evening, the hypothalamus holds back melatonin release, signalling to your body that it's still daytime.
It's not just brightness that matters, but also distance: a smartphone held 30 centimetres from your face sends significantly more light to your retina than a TV three metres away. Here's what can help in everyday life:
- Avoid screens during the last hour before bed; this is the single most effective step.
- Turn on night mode or a blue light filter in the evening. These shift the colour temperature to warmer tones and reduce the effect, but don't eliminate it: brightness and stimulating content still matter.
- Turn down screen brightness noticeably in the evening and switch to warm, indirect lighting in the room.
- Conversely, get plenty of daylight in the morning. It stabilises your internal clock from the other end of the cycle and makes it easier to wind down in the evening.
Natural support with micronutrients and plants
If you're still having trouble falling or staying asleep despite good sleep hygiene, certain micronutrients and plants can complement your routine. For micronutrients, it's worth looking at melatonin and magnesium. We'll introduce plants traditionally used in European and Ayurvedic herbal medicine.
Melatonin: the sleep hormone
Melatonin is the micronutrient most directly linked to falling asleep. Melatonin helps reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, with the effect occurring when 1 mg is taken shortly before bedtime. Your body produces melatonin itself in the evening as darkness sets in. Supplementation may be useful for jet lag, shift work, or age-related reductions in the body's own production.
Magnesium: for the nervous system and muscle function
Magnesium contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system, normal muscle function, and normal psychological function. It also helps reduce tiredness and fatigue. Many people prefer to take magnesium in the evening; our Magnesium 3-in-1 Complex with magnesium bisglycinate can be a convenient option.
MAGNESIUM 3-IN-1 COMPLEX: Three forms of magnesium for your routine
Three bioavailable forms of magnesium in one capsule: citrate, bisglycinate, and malate.
✓ Magnesium contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system
✓ Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function
✓ Magnesium contributes to normal psychological function
✓ Magnesium helps reduce tiredness and fatigue
✓ Vegan · no additives · made in our German workshop
→ Discover the Magnesium 3-in-1 Complex
Ashwagandha: a traditional plant ingredient from Ayurveda
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) has been used in Ayurvedic tradition for centuries. The name literally translates as "smell of the horse", a reference to the root's distinctive smell. Our Ashwagandha KSM-66 is a high-quality root extract with a standardised withanolide content, made from certified organic crops.
Passionflower, lemon balm, hops, and valerian: classic evening plants
Passionflower, lemon balm, hops, and valerian are classic plants in European herbal tradition, used for centuries:
- Passionflower, a traditional plant ingredient from European herbal medicine
- Lemon balm, a time-honoured herb from the Mediterranean herbal tradition
- Hops, containing characteristic bitter compounds and used for centuries
- Valerian, a classic European plant with a long history of use
L-tryptophan in the Night Rest Complex
L-tryptophan is an essential amino acid that your body can't produce itself, so you get it through food. In the Night Rest Complex it's part of a combination formula that brings together melatonin, L-tryptophan, passionflower, lemon balm, hops, and B vitamins. Melatonin helps reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, while the botanical ingredients have a long history of use in European herbal tradition.
→ Discover the Night Rest Complex
More on the nervous system, sleep, and mental well-being
This article covers sleep in depth. For more content about the nervous system, stress, and mental well-being, featuring magnesium, B vitamins, and time-honoured plants, explore our topic hub.
→ Explore the nervous system, sleep, and mental well-being topic hub
Conclusion: good sleep is a biological necessity
Sleep isn't a luxury or wasted time; it's a biological necessity that has a major impact on your well-being. The good news is that much of it is in your hands. A stable internal clock, consistent sleep hygiene, and the right sleep environment are the most important factors.
If you'd like to complement your evening routine, our workshop offers suitable products: the Night Rest Complex with melatonin to help you fall asleep more easily, the Magnesium 3-in-1 Complex for your evening routine, and Ashwagandha KSM-66 as a time-honoured root extract. All are laboratory-tested, made without unnecessary additives, and produced in Germany. And if your sleep problems persist despite all your efforts, don't hesitate to consult a doctor or sleep specialist; sleep disorders can be treated effectively today.
Rather than trying to force sleep, we should create the conditions that allow it to come naturally.
Note: Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the recommended daily intake. Keep out of reach of young children. If sleep problems persist, please seek medical advice. Pregnant or breastfeeding women and people taking medication should consult a doctor before taking melatonin or herbal sleep products. Information in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims and EU Regulation No 432/2012.
