How to Use slow-wave sleep in a Sentence

slow-wave sleep

noun
  • Deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep, is the deepest stage of sleep.
    — Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 7 Nov. 2023
  • That prepares you for the next stage -- a deep, slow-wave sleep, also known as delta sleep.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 12 Jan. 2022
  • In contrast, there was no effect when the sounds were played during slow-wave sleep.
    — Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2024
  • The deeper payoff happens in slow-wave sleep.
    — Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 May 2026
  • Falling into slow-wave sleep, or deep sleep, is an important step in that process and sleep routines help pave the way.
    — Byalexa Mikhail, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2022
  • Those awakened from slow-wave sleep are groggy and disoriented.
    — Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 7 June 2018
  • Another important stage of sleep is deep sleep, when your brain waves slow into what is called delta waves or slow-wave sleep.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 25 June 2020
  • Aromatherapy using lavender oil may also increase time spent in deep, slow-wave sleep.
    — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 20 Aug. 2020
  • This subconscious alertness can lead to lighter and more restless sleep, known as unihemispheric slow-wave sleep.
    — Anita Bhagwandas, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Oct. 2024
  • Sleep quality often decreases during the aging process, due to less slow-wave sleep (also known as deep sleep).
    — Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 3 Jan. 2022
  • At sea, the birds did experience some slow-wave sleep while apparently resting at the water’s surface.
    — Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Nov. 2023
  • This phenomenon of asymmetric slow-wave sleep, in which one side of the brain rests while the other remains awake, is observed in other species.
    — Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The researchers say the association between the issues and your optimal sleep time may have something to do with slow-wave sleep.
    — Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 5 May 2022
  • What this paper doesn't explain, and doesn't try to, is dreaming, REM sleep, which is very different to slow-wave sleep.
    — Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 21 Aug. 2011
  • These stages are followed by deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep, where the body undergoes significant restorative processes.
    — Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, The Conversation, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Next, participants slept in the lab, and the experimenters waited until the deepest stage of sleep (slow-wave sleep) to once again expose them to the odour.
    — Sadie Witkowski, Smithsonian, 16 Feb. 2018
  • The work directly tied the oscillations of slow-wave sleep to memory—and pointed to a way of using slow-wave sleep to improve memory.
    — Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Particularly when Benjamin's brain waves enter what is known as a non-REM slow-wave sleep.
    — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2025
  • People with severe sleep apnea who spent less time in deep, also known as slow-wave sleep, had more damage to the white matter of the brain than people who had more slow-wave sleep, according to the study.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 10 May 2023
  • The researchers discovered that eating more saturated fat and less fiber from foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains led to reductions in slow-wave sleep, which is the deep, restorative kind.
    — Star Tribune, 8 Jan. 2021
  • Video gaming has been linked to declines in verbal memory and restorative slow-wave sleep in school-aged children, but it has also been shown to improve motor performance and spatial abilities.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 23 Sep. 2019
  • Mednick said subjects on the drug typically would lose out on slow-wave sleep, or deep sleep, which is related to memory consolidation and physical and mental restoration.
    — Lilly Nguyen, Daily Pilot, 10 Sep. 2019
  • This slow-wave sleep likely supports memory formation by making the long-term memory storing neocortex especially receptive for short bursts of time.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 12 Dec. 2024
  • Deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep, plays a vital role in maintaining brain health, memory consolidation, and overall cognitive performance throughout life.
    — Jennifer Klump, Verywell Health, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Doing so prepares us for the third stage — a deep, slow-wave sleep where the body is restoring itself on a cellular level, fixing damage from the day’s wear and tear and consolidating memories into long-term storage.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023
  • For example, two toxic substrates flushed during slow-wave sleep include beta Amyloid and tau, protein pieces that occur in greater quantities in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
    — Mackenzie Wagoner, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2022
  • One study found the pink noise cocktail increased deep or slow-wave sleep and improved memory in a few people with existing cognitive impairment, but the results were much stronger in cognitively healthy adults in their 70s.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 3 May 2021
  • During the sleep studies, Benjamin did not sleepwalk but Simmons observed how quickly Benjamin entered that non-REM slow-wave sleep.
    — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Doing so prepares us for the third stage — a deep, slow-wave sleep where the body is literally restoring itself on a cellular level, fixing damage from the day’s wear and tear and consolidating memories into long-term storage.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 20 Jan. 2023
  • Doing so prepares us for the third stage – a deep, slow-wave sleep where the body is literally restoring itself on a cellular level – fixing damage from the day’s wear and tear and consolidating memories into long-term storage.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 27 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slow-wave sleep.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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