Got 8 Hours Of Sleep & Still Feel Groggy When You Wake Up? This Could Be Why

We've all had those mornings when you can't seem to shake the grogginess—even if you got a full eight hours of sleep. And if it's happening on a consistent basis, you're no doubt wondering what can be done.

We cycle through four stages of sleep every night, each with a different function. There's Stage 1, as you drift off; Stage 2, or light sleep; Stage 3, which is deep sleep; and finally Stage 4, or REM sleep.

In deep sleep, the body repairs cells and promotes muscle and tissue growth. And in REM sleep, which happens to be the sleep stage in which we dream, the brain is believed to consolidate memories.

According to board-certified family medicine doctor Robert Rountree, M.D., these sleep stages are crucial to wake up feeling rested. "In my opinion, it's not the total hours you're in bed; it's how much deep sleep and how much REM sleep you're getting," he tells mbg co-founder Jason Wachob on the mbg podcast. "Some people can be in bed for six hours and get two hours of deep and two hours of REM—those people are my heroes."

To ease into a deep, restorative night's sleep, your body and nervous system need to be able to relax. This will help you not only fall asleep faster but stay asleep and cycle through the sleep stages effectively. One way to help do this is with a magnesium supplement.

mbg's sleep support+, for example, has been found in research to reduce stress and calm neurotransmitter hyperactivity, with additional research finding it reduces the stress of the nervous system, promoting a steady state of relaxation that helps you stay asleep longer and wake up refreshed.