Eli5: What happens in your body when you fall asleep?
In: Biology
We often think of sleep as turning off the body. This isn’t entirely true. Sure, some parts are inactivated or slowed down, but other important functions happen.
It can be related to a pit stop in car racing. Using your body (especially your brain) can cause wear and tear. Bi- products of daily activity in your cells that might get in the way or even be harmful to your body build up. Sleep is the time your body fixes things like that.
Your body goes through different cycles that repeat during sleep. Completing the cycle is important to getting a good night’s rest. Waking up in the middle can leave you feeling drowsy. It’s like it the race car ran off before all the bolts got put on the tires. You’d feel the car shake.
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