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 25 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 sleepwalking to exploding head syndrome and sleep apnea, here are 25 Things Your Body Does While You Sleep.
Your body temperature drops
Source: womansday.com, image: publicdomainpictures.net 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
Source: dailymail.co.uk, image: commons.wikimedia.org 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
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: pexels.com 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
Source: womansday.com, image: InfoWire.dk via flickr.com 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
Source: dailymail.co.uk, image: commons.wikimedia.org 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.
