What Your Body Does When You Sleep
We need lots of rest and relaxation but our body never takes a break. Check out these 5 things your body does when we are fast asleep.
1. Your body temperature goes down
When we are active during the day, we burn more calories, so lowering temperature is a way to reduce the burn rate and save calories. "It's like how bears hibernate," says Dr. Avi Ishaaya, a sleep specialist and assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA. Sleep is our survival mechanism.
2. You do a full toxin cleanse
Sleep allows the body and brain to rejuvenate. In people who don't sleep well, the filtration of toxins isn't as effective, so experts say that may help explain why people who are sleep-deprived can be a little off.
3. You clear out your mind
A sorting process takes place during sleep to help us get rid of pointless information that was taken in throughout the day. During the day we take in a lot of information, but if we remembered all of it our brains would fill up.
4. You actually slim down
And while we know shut-eye is vital for energy, our slumber directly impacts the hormones in our bodies that regulate appetite, like ghrelin—which in turn, can impact weight. If you’re up all night your body treats that as a stressor, producing extra stress hormones like cortisol. And excess cortisol can lead to fat stores around your belly area.
5. You cut your risk of disease
Sleep is incredibly essential for the immune system. Just like your brain actively helps you commit memories toward knowledge, research also suggests your immune system uses time asleep to "remember" invaders like bacteria that can lead to illness. Levels of some immune system regulators also peak during deep slumber. It's why we think some people who don't catch as many zzzs are more susceptible to colds and flus.