Top Ten Important Things That Happen to You While You're Sleeping

During sleep, particularly the Non-REM stages when you're in deep sleep and not dreaming, your body strengthens and builds your bones and muscles. This relates to the growth hormone I mentioned earlier. I decided to list it separately because the hormone not only builds bones and muscles but also strengthens them.

You know how sometimes you pull a muscle or injure it, and people tell you to get some sleep and it will be better in the morning? That's because of this improvement in bone and muscle. Another thing that happens during this stage is the strengthening of your metabolism.

Have you ever wondered why some people get diabetes, heart problems, obesity, or even all three, while others don't? It's partly random or because of the health choices of the person in question. However, another big factor is good sleep. Getting enough sleep strengthens all of your organs, your immune system, your nervous system, and all your other systems.

But what else does this help, other than the basic functions of these systems, organs, or muscles? It actually improves your resistance to various health problems. While sleep won't improve every health issue, and it may not prevent you from getting an illness, it will help you fight off many health problems. Lack of sleep can induce cancer, heart problems, diabetes, and even obesity, which you might think is caused only by food choices, but it's partly due to insufficient sleep.

One of the most important things that happens during sleep is the improvement of memory function. This means your brain prepares to help you remember the events of the next day. Although sleep also processes the previous day's events, it enables you to retain information for the next day.

When you wake up, it may be easier to answer questions because your brain has helped boost your memory. A personal example is with speeches: practicing late at night can be difficult, but if you practice immediately after waking up, you might remember everything much better.

Your immune system helps you fight off sicknesses through a complex network of defenses. Sleep strengthens these defenses, replaces older white blood cells, and revitalizes the immune system. Without adequate sleep, you are more susceptible to illnesses, may get sicker than usual, and take longer to recover.

It's impressive how well the body does this. When you're sick, getting extra rest and a good night's sleep helps you fully recover. We're halfway through the list, and it's amazing that there are still more important functions that sleep supports. Let's continue!

You may have noticed that people often make poor decisions when sleep-deprived. You might do silly things at sleepovers or when you've been up all night working because you haven't had enough sleep.

During sleep, the nervous system not only improves memory function and processes the day's information but also enhances your ability to think clearly and make better decisions. This is crucial because a quick mind is essential for success in life.

Much like with the healing and repairing of human tissue and bones, your body heals and repairs the heart and blood vessels while you sleep, much more so than during the day.

Blood circulation, which is what the circulatory system is all about, is one of the most vital parts of our body. Without it, we wouldn't be able to live, as there would be no circulation.

It's not like your circulatory system would be completely destroyed without this process, but with a lack of sleep, it would deteriorate over time. You'd end up either moving like a sloth (not too bad) or dead.

Without sleep, it's difficult to remember the previous day's events. You might say, "But I've pulled all-nighters before and remembered everything clearly!" That's probably because you slept a few hours afterward.

I remember pulling all-nighters, but I don't remember much of the following day, likely acting like a zombie. Your brain sorts and processes everything that happened during the day. Sometimes, dreams are related to the previous day's events because your body is going through this process. It's very essential.

As you fall into deeper stages of sleep, you become harder to wake and less likely to dream. During this time, your muscles experience a significant increase in blood flow, bringing oxygen and nutrients that help repair and regenerate muscle tissues.

Without this process, working out would be much more difficult, and your muscles would be more tender the next day. Accidental bumps would hurt more than usual.