Ok going to sleep now goodnight
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When you eat food, it eventually becomes ATP, Adenosine TriPhosphate. It’s what we use for energy (it’s a bit more complicated, but it’s ELI5). When we use this ATP to do something, it’s now no longer ATP. This new form of Adenosine eventually ends up back in your brain where it attaches to Adenosine Receptors. This makes you sleepy, and sleeping clears it out of your system.
This is also why Caffeine can keep you awake. Caffeine molecules are shaped just like these Adenosine molecules and they will sit in your adenosine receptors, keeping your adenosine from making you sleepy (but it will keep building up until the caffeine metabolizes out and can get to your receptors).
The protein that makes you sleepy is consumed when you sleep (ADP built up in the brain is reduced. ATP is required for energy, converted to ADP when used. That builds up)
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