There's a lot of reasons why sleep is the favorite activity for so many people around the world. This peaceful part of our day is vitally important for our physical, as well as our psychological well-being.
We often have the impression that sleep is a quiet and peaceful activity but this is not the case. While we sleep, our body does and can do very strange things, while the processes underway are exceptionally interesting indeed. Let us explore a few of them.
Body temperature
During sleep most of our muscles become inactive. This way your body burns less calories than when we're awake. As such, our body temperature drops. Researchers have found that it is at its lowest at around 2:30 AM.
Height
It's been proven that a person can wake several centimeters taller after a long sleep. This is due to the fact that the spine relaxes and stretches, while our body isn't under the strain of our weight like when we're upright.
Trembling
During sleep our entire body trembles, the reason being our relaxing muscles. This condition is characteristic at the start of our sleep cycle and is harmless. Sometimes when our over-stressed muscles tremble so much they can wake us.
Muscles
During sleep our muscles become paralyzed. It is in this way that they are able to relax.
Skin
Skin metabolism speeds up while we sleep, thereby restoring the skin after removing dead cells throughout the day. The body begins to produce more proteins during sleep, which are needed for growth and damage repair. Therefore, the term "beauty sleep" is actually quite accurate.
Hormones
In slow wave sleep, the human body releases outbursts of growth hormones that stimulate growth, reproduction and regeneration of cells. Every period of sleep, even during the day, is linked to the secretion of prolactin, an important immune system regulator.
Immune system
During sleep our body releases 3 times more antibodies, which fight viruses, than in a waking state.
Loss of excess pounds
No matter how unbelievable it may sound, we actually lose weight when we sleep. This occurs because we lose water by sweating and exhaling humid air. This happens during the day as well but eating and drinking counteract any weight loss. Therefore, a good night's sleep is an important element of any diet.
