Is there anything better in the world than sleep? Can anyone hate sleep? Is there a better cure for every problem than sleep? And so the list goes on and on. Sleep is one of the best things the human body does to itself, according to me. It is the best medicine for every problem in life. Sleep and wake up. Life gets better always.
There are many weird things that happen when we sleep. And it is interesting to note that those are weird facts for our brain to contemplate. It plays a vital role in the human body and has a lot of weird facts associated with it.
Let’s know a little more about the dearest sleep here.
Related link: https://www.icytales.com/weird-things-that-happen-while-sleep/
What is the Role of Sleep?
Sleep is an indispensable part and function of a human body. Your body craves sleep like hunger and many other cravings. If you consider appetite and sleep as equivalent functions vital to our body, then you are wrong.
Sleep is a step ahead of hunger always. This is because our brain has absolute control over when we can eat even when we are famished to death. But when we are exhausted and sleep-deprived, the brain loses its control over the body.
When our body is exhausted, it can put itself to sleep without the knowledge of the brain. Even over extreme situations, our body puts itself in a micro-sleep mode for a few seconds or minutes when the eyes are open. Such is the power of sleep
Sleep is a vital function of the body. It has to be given more importance than your hunger. So next time, if you had to choose between your morning breakfast and your incomplete sleep, choose sleep confidently because it is the right choice.
Who wants to leave our dear pillow and the dearest mattress anyway? Right!
What if you go to sleep hungry? Watch this video:
Napping for more than 30 minutes in the day time also affects your sleep cycle. It decreases the time you sleep at night by reducing the body’s sleep drive.
Maybe we should choose to sleep at night only? What do you think?
Related link: https://www.icytales.com/ways-sleep-better-night/
Let us discuss some weird things that happen when you sleep. It will give a deep insight into your sleep cycle and sleeping pattern and help you to tweak it for the better.
Here are the Eight Weird Things That Happen When you Sleep
1. Your Brain is Super-Active
Yes, you heard that right. Your brain always remains active and stays extra active when you are asleep. It stays all night to sort and process the day’s information. It stores all the information for the day in different compartments. It also performs other vital bodily functions to prepare for the next day when you are awake.
When you sleep, this brain activity is the reason behind your long-term memories. So the next time you have an awesome day you want to cherish forever, remember to have a good night’s sleep. The memory will stay strong like it happened yesterday. Isn’t it one of the weird things that happen when you sleep? Human bodies are true, unbelievable.
Related link: https://www.icytales.com/the-impact-using-smartphones-before-sleep/
2. Hormones Flood Your Body
Hormones never stop working. Many hormones are secreted by different glands of our body when you sleep. It is as if the hormones are waiting for the body to rest and sleep, to start pouring and working inside the body.
It is one of the weird things that happen when you sleep. Hormones like melatonin are secreted by the pineal gland. The pituitary gland releases the growth hormone when you are asleep. So the actual growth of the human body happens when you are sleeping. It is one of the weird things that happen when you sleep.
I would suggest you take a measuring tape every day to measure your sleep cycle. It might actually be an accurate measure, isn’t it?
3. Nervous System Also Chills
The nervous system is responsible for the fight or flight response that our body gives during the day time. So the nervous system gets a chance to relax at night. When deprived of sleep, the sympathetic nervous system activity increases, which are mirrored by an acute rise in the body’s blood pressure.
Scientists are investigating if there is any relationship between decreased sleep duration and increased risk of heart disease. So, it’s essential for the nervous system to relax for a healthy body. But we can’t deny the fact that the nervous system chilling is quite a weird thing that happens when you sleep.
4. Your Muscles are Paralyzed
The Rapid Eye Movement is the deepest sleep of all. In this phase of sleep, all the muscles of the limbs in the body are paralyzed. They remain unable to move till you wake up from the sleep. There is a sleep disorder in which this paralyzed state lasts for a few seconds or minutes after you wake up.
This sleeping disorder is one of the weird things that happen when you sleep. Patients of Narcolepsy can suffer a frightening sense of this sleep paralysis.1 There are a lot of myths surrounding sleep paralysis in different cultures across the world.
These myths will blow your mind more than the fact of sleep paralysis. It is a whole different horror story.
Related link: https://www.icytales.com/sleep-apnea-death-during-sleeping/
5. Eyes are Active
Sleep can be divided into five different phases. Every phase gives a deeper sleep than the previous one. The last phase, which is the Rapid Eye Movement2 (REM) starts after the first 60 to 90 minutes of sleep. This phase is literally defined by the movement of your eyes.
It is one of the weird things that happen when you sleep because the eyes are in constant movement, but the brain never recognizes it. This is because the brain has its focus on what you are dreaming of. So the phrase physically present and mentally absent is true even when we sleep.
What do you think?
Related link: https://www.icytales.com/you-may-sleeping-your-face-definitely-not/
6. Your Throat Narrows
This is definitely one of the weird things that happen when you sleep. The muscles that keep your throat open when you are awake relax at night or, in other words, get paralyzed like the rest of the muscles in your body at night. Due to this muscle relaxation, your throat size also decreases.
Here comes the truth bomb. Your decreasing throat size is one of the causes of deep snoring. There are other contributing factors like nasal obstruction, tightening of the throat, and gas in your stomach. However, it is annoying to know that this annoying noise is created by your body when you sleep.
7. Anti-Diuretic Hormone (ADH) Controlling Your Pee
How many times do you have the urge to pee when you are asleep? I am pretty sure that it is always less than the average number of times you pee during the day time. This is because the Anti-Diuretic Hormone3 comes as a savior.
This hormone reduces the urge to urinate when you are asleep because the body knows your sleep is important. I know that a lot of us would not trade our sleep to peeing anyway. It is one of the weird things that happen when you sleep.
However, a big shoutout to people who choose their sleep over the urge to pee. We are a team!
8. You Experience Spontaneous Sexual Arousal
We all know the jokes around men waking with some humongous sexual arousal. But the fact is that this sexual arousal is common for both men and women. This is because the brain activity is at peak at some point during our long sleeping hours in the Rapid Eye Movement phase.
Due to this brain activity in peaks, the flow of blood will become faster in the body. This affects every organ of your body, including your intimate organs. This consequently results in the activation of your sexual hormones.
So dear boys and girls, remember this fact before you freak out on waking up with a great mood to have sex. It is common and healthy too. You should thank your sleep cycle for giving you super-active sexual hormones.4
Related link: https://www.icytales.com/what-does-your-sleeping-positions-tell-about-your-personality/
There are many weird things that happen when you sleep other than the above-mentioned facts. The release of the stress hormone called “Cortisol” reduces to a great extent when you get enough sleep. This is the science behind sleep being the best medicine for our every problem.
Sleep should be considered as your body’s automatic rest mode in order to prepare for your next day. Sleep can always make you perform better and push you to the best. So, do not underestimate your sleep.
The next time you plan for a night out to study before the day of your exam, remind yourself that sleep can make you do wonders in the exam than stressing out on studying at the last minute. Sleep should always be your go-to bed.
Related link: https://www.icytales.com/6-things-to-do-when-you-cant-sleep-at-night/
Comment below your favorite fact about sleep and show how much you love sleeping!
Watch below to know some strange things that happen when you sleep:
References:
- Sharpless, Brian A., and Jacques P. Barber. “Lifetime prevalence rates of sleep paralysis: a systematic review.” Sleep medicine reviews 15.5 (2011): 311-315. ↩︎
- Gagnon, Jean-François, et al. “Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder and neurodegenerative diseases.” The Lancet Neurology 5.5 (2006): 424-432. ↩︎
- Nørgaard, J. P., Erling Bjerregaard Pedersen, and J. C. Djurhuus. “Diurnal anti-diuretic-hormone levels in enuretics.” The Journal of urology 134.5 (1985): 1029-1031. ↩︎
- Nation, T. “The 4 Factors of Female Libido.” ↩︎
Last Updated on by Sathi
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