Eli5: What does sleep actually do that makes us feel less tired?

Question

I’m not sure if anyone actually knows the full answer for this question, but are there any widely excepted theories about what sleep does?

In: Biology

Answer 1

There is chemical called adenosine that is waste product that is generated through out the day. Adenosine binds to its receptor and causes us to feel sleepy. In fact caffeine works by blocking adenosine from binding thus we no longer feel sleepy.