7 Things About Sleep You Don't Know

Do you know your brain processes information from the day while you sleep? So that test you've been cramming for, or that season of squid games you've been watching, basically if you didn't sleep your brain won't get a chance to process and store that information so you can remember it the next day. That's just one of the amazing things that your brain does while you sleep. You probably don't know much about what happens to your body when you sleep, well because you're asleep. But sleeping is so important for our physical and mental health, but there's still a lot that we don't know. There's still lots of unanswered questions like why do we have sleep cycles? Why do we dream? Why do humans even need sleep in the first place? But one question we definitely know the answer to is that when we sleep we feel better physically and mentally. My name is Sarah Jeffries, I'm a registered nurse here in Los Angeles, California with a background in ER nursing, education and sleep therapy. In this video I'm going to tell you seven amazing things our bodies do while we sleep. So let's start off with number seven. Your immune system releases an inflammation fighting cytokine. Without enough sleep your immune system just can't function at its best and that's because while you sleep your immune system releases a small type of protein called cytokine. Simply put, if you're sick or injured these cytokines help your body fight the inflammation and infection and any injuries you might have. That's why I mention sleep a lot in my videos for recovery. Number six, hormones flood your body. There are a number of different hormones released during sleep, all with different purposes. One of them for example is called melatonin. You've probably heard of that. This is released by the pineal gland. The gland is in some places the call of the third eye. It's located right deep in the brain. It's a small soybean shape. It's responsible for releasing melatonin which helps control your sleep cycles. Disclaimer, this video is for educational purpose only and not a replacement for medical advice. Number five, your muscles are paralyzed. While asleep you cycle through periods of deep and light sleep and then also rapid eye movement sleep, that's REM sleep. It's during this REM sleep that we have the most vivid dreams and during this stage your body sends signals to temporarily paralyze you, meaning you can't move. Some scientists think this might be so you don't physically act out your dreams. It's crazy. Number four, your body releases an antidiuretic hormone, ADH. This helps you to not have a pee during the night. So if you've ever wondered why you have to go to the toilet every couple of hours during the day but you can sleep a whole eight hours without heading to the bathroom, thank ADH. This is an antidiuretic hormone. It's released by the brain and due to the circadian rhythm which is off the knee to urinate so often during the night. Number three, your brain sorts and processes the day's information. Don't be fooled into thinking that when you're asleep your brain has shut off. It's quite the opposite. Your brain is actually really busy while you're asleep. It sorts and stores the information from the day. Now this process is really important for creating those long-term memories. So as your brain goes through all of the information from that day, it files it away for later use. Number two, this is to do with your cortisol levels. So low levels of cortisol, often called the stress hormone, decrease during the first few hours of sleep and then they rise up again soon after you wake up. This helps make you feel perky when you're awake and switches on your appetite. I'd just like to ask you if you know any of the things that your brain does while you're asleep. Let me know in the comments down below. If you enjoyed this video and you want to learn more on how to have the best night's sleep ever, subscribe and hit that bell notification because I'm going to be posting a lot more videos like this. So number one, your sympathetic nervous system chills out. Studies have shown that when you're sleep deprived, your sympathetic nervous system activity increases as well as your blood pressure. During sleep, your sympathetic nervous system, which controls your fight-or-flight response, gets a chance to relax. Scientists studying coronary disease are investigating whether there's a relationship between not getting enough sleep with increased risk of heart disease. How interesting is that? If you want to know how to get the best sleep, click here where I give you tips on what to do.