7 Amazing Things You Unknowingly Do While You Sleep
Sleep is undeniably an important building block to living a healthy, happy, and productive life. Regularly sleeping seven to eight hours a night helps your health, body, and your mind perform at their very best. However, you may not know that your body is doing some amazing things for you, all while you’re getting your needed rest and rejuvenation.
Here are seven amazing things you’re doing while you sleep, without even knowing about it:
1. Your body does a full cleansing of brain toxins while you sleep
According to The National Institutes of Health, the brain flushes toxins out while you sleep, including degenerative neurotoxins that damage and diminish the brain. Sleeping literally clears and cleans your mind.
2. You forget information that you don’t need while you’re sleeping
Throughout the day, your brain absorbs, processes, and stores more information than you notice, and much more than you actually need. While you sleep, your brain filters out information that you don’t need.
3. All the cells in your body are repaired as you sleep
Sleep is a natural process of rejuvenation and repair for your entire body. While you sleep, all of the cells in your body are repaired and replenished. This is why you feel wonderful and energetic after a good night’s rest, and also why you tend to feel run down or ill when you have not slept well or long enough.
4. You immune system goes into overdrive while you sleep
When you sleep, your immune system goes into overdrive and helps you heal and recover from illnesses. According to the Mayo Clinic, sleep produces a release of proteins called cytokines. These proteins work to promote sleep, but they are also needed in higher amounts when you are combating illness or stress. Sleeping helps your immune system do its best work, and keep you healthy.
5. Your body temperature decreases during your sleep
Your body temperature drops while you are sleeping, which reduces the rate at which you burn calories. This helps save energy, and allows your body to get the rest it needs without exerting the added energy.
6. Though your brain is active, your body becomes paralyzed during sleep
Even though your body goes into a state of mostly motionless relaxation while you sleep, your brain is more active than while you are awake. The exact reason for this phenomenon is a mystery to experts. According to an interview printed in Cosmopolitan, Dr. Alon Y. Avidan, professor of neurology and director of UCLA’s Sleep Disorders Center said, “One theory is that in REM sleep, you’re organizing thoughts and learning, filing information, but no one really understands specifically why a sleeping mind is active.”
7. You might stop breathing while you sleep
As you sleep, your brain sends signals to your body to continue breathing while you rest. However, according to the National Sleep Foundation, 18 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder called Sleep Apnea. This condition causes you to stop breathing periodically throughout the night, and can severely impact the quality of your sleep and your health. If you have trouble staying asleep, or awake frequently due to snoring or gasping for air, you might suffer from this disorder. The symptoms can be less obvious to some, and many people experience awaking feeling unrefreshed, several times a week, over the course of many months.
