7 amazing things that happen to your body when you sleep

Like exercise and a healthy diet, a good night's sleep is an essential part of wellness. Good sleep helps the body recover both physically and mentally. The following article will tell about the effects of sleep on health and the reasons for having a good night's sleep.

There's a lot we don't know about sleep. Questions such as: “Why do we have sleep cycles?” “Why do we dream and why do we need to sleep in the first place” are something that scientists are still figuring out the exact answer. Good sleep helps the body feel better physically and mentally as well as work more efficiently during the day. Without a good night's sleep, you will feel tired, irritable, and unable to concentrate.
7 sleep effects on our body and mind include:

Don't think, when you sleep your brain stops working. Our brains are actually quite busy during sleep as they have to organize, process and store the information received during the day. This process is especially important for converting short-term memories into long-term memories. This helps you learn and means that when we wake up, we often see things more clearly.
Poor sleep will reduce your ability to pay attention, poor concentration, reduce your thinking and reactions. So the effects of a good night's sleep can help you maintain your energy levels, stay alert, and focus your attention throughout the day.

There are a number of different hormones released during sleep, all with different purposes. Melatonin secreted by the pineal gland helps control sleep. Increased melatonin levels at night will make you feel sleepy. During sleep, the pituitary gland secretes growth hormone that helps the body grow and repair itself.

During sleep, the sympathetic nervous system that controls the body's response or response has a chance to relax. Studies have shown that, when we are sleep deprived, sympathetic nervous system activity increases, which can increase the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. High blood pressure is also a major risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease.
Not only that, poor sleep has also been linked to poor insulin regulation and insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar. Without enough sleep, the body's ability to regulate blood sugar is disturbed and blood sugar levels can increase, causing diabetes. Therefore, good sleep is an important factor in taking care of heart health.

Cortisol levels, commonly known as the stress hormone, decrease during the first few hours of sleep and peak shortly after awakening. This helps the body feel refreshed upon waking and stimulates the appetite.
Poor sleep can make it harder to control your appetite and possibly weight gain. If you do not sleep properly, the body will need more energy because of staying awake for a long time. This can make you more likely to choose unhealthy foods and overeat, especially later in the day. Therefore, good sleep plays an important role in regulating how the body uses food for energy and weight control.

During sleep, the body alternates between non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. During REM sleep, we have the most vivid dreams.
During this stage, the muscles are temporarily paralyzed, which means you cannot move. Some scientists think this can keep you from realizing your dreams.

Have you ever wondered why you have to go to the bathroom to pee a few hours a day, but can sleep for eight hours without peeing? That's thanks to ADH, an antidiuretic hormone secreted by the brain in a circadian rhythm, which eliminates the need to urinate frequently during the night.

During sleep, the body's immune system releases a small protein called a cytokine. If you are sick or injured, these cytokines help your body fight inflammation, infection, and injury. Therefore, the effect of good sleep is to help the immune system function properly and prevent infections. Sleep gives your body the time it needs to rest and repair, which is one of the reasons you feel tired and want to sleep more when you're unwell. Sleep helps the immune system's proteins and cells to detect and destroy any invaders. It also helps cells remember these agents so they are ready to fight them off. So a good night's sleep boosts the body's immune response and allows time for rest and recovery.
Your body does a lot of important work during sleep. Good sleep is important to physical and mental health, so if you have trouble falling asleep, have trouble falling asleep, don't feel comfortable when you wake up, or feel tired during the day, talk to doctor about what you can do to improve your sleep or whether there is an underlying health problem causing your sleep deprivation.

References: health.qld.gov.au, bupa.co.uk