Some Things Your Body Does While You Sleep

There are numerous reasons why sleeping is many people’s favorite activity. This peaceful part of our day is vital for both our physical and mental well being; it is a state of mind when we can dream, relax, restore our energy etc. We often tend to think of our slumber as a very inactive and quiet activity. But as you will see in our post today, that is not true at all. You will be surprised to learn how many things are actually going on in our body when we are having a doze. You do not need to worry though. All of the things are totally normal, helping your body to work properly once you are awake again. As long-term sleep deprivation can have devastating effects on your health (see these some Scary Surprising Effects Of Sleep Deprivation), it is important to understand and appreciate your sleep. After all, we spend a whole third of our life sleeping. Therefore, today’s post with things your body does while you sleep might come in handy as it will help you better understand what is going in our body while we slumber away. From bruxism and sleep walking to exploding head syndrome and sleep apnea, here are some Things Your Body Does While You Sleep.
 

Your body temperature drops

As most of our muscles became inactive during sleep, the body burns fewer calories than during the day, so the body temperatures drops. Scientists have figured out that your body temperature is usually lowest at around 2:30 am.

Your eyes move

Though covered with lids, your eyes move in sleep. In fact, their movement even differs with the particular stages of sleep. First, they roll, and later on, when we get into deeper sleep, they twitch and dart about. However, we usually don’t remember this.

Your body jerks

Sudden twitches and hypnic jerks are mostly associated with the first stages of sleep. They are usually harmless, but they might be strong enough to actually wake you up.

Your muscles are paralyzed

There is a good reason why most of your muscles become paralyzed in sleep – if they were active, you would be able to act out your dreams, which would be, of course, extremely dangerous.

Your skin repairs itself

The top layer of the skin is made of closely packed dead cells which are constantly shed during the day. In sleep, the skin’s metabolic rate speeds up, and many of the body’s cells show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins. As proteins are needed for cell growth and repair of damage from factors like UV rays, deep sleep may indeed be beauty sleep.

Your brain forgets useless information

“We take in all this information all day long, and most of it is luckily forgotten,” says sleep specialist Christopher Colwell at UCLA School of Medicine. “If you remembered everything, it would fill up your brain, so a sorting process takes place during sleep.”

Your throat gets narrow

Unlike most other muscles, throat muscles do not become paralyzed during sleep as they are needed for us to breathe. However, they are more relaxed, causing the throat to narrow. This might also help contribute to snoring.

Your immune system is at its all-time high

It has been shown that sleep deprivation affects the immune system. One study showed that people who received flu shots and were sleep-deprived the next night did not create the antibodies required to protect against the flu. Therefore, if you notice the first signs of an infection, try to sleep as long as you can to give your immune system time to beat the illness.

You lose weight

While sleeping, you lose water through perspiring and breathing out humid air. This happens during the day too, but eating and drinking negates any weight loss. Therefore, having a good and long sleep is necessary for any diet to be successful.

Your mouth gets dry

As saliva is mostly needed for eating, and we don’t eat while sleeping, the salivary flow is reduced in night. Consequently, you might have dry mouth and be thirsty when you wake up in the morning.