I think my naps and full sleep got swiped and now my brain thinks it’s appropriate to nap at night and fully sleep at daytime. I’ve been trying to fix this by sleeping only at night and my brain is still thinking that even with all the tiredness I only need a short nap..soo what gives?
In: Biology
Multiple things control the desire to sleep.
1. The circadian rhythm. You have a part of your brain dedicated to knowing what time it is. It doesn’t just control sleep, and it can be affected by things like light and temperature. Your brain releases chemicals based on this.
2. Melatonin. Your body makes this chemical, which doesn’t make you sleepy per say, but makes you ready for sleep.
3. Adenosine. Another chemical your body makes. It increases through out the day, and once it reaches a certain level, you get the desire to go to sleep. This is what coffee messes with.
4. Histamines. Histamines help keep you awake. This is why antihistamines, like Benadryl, make you sleepy.
So any disruption of those could mess up a sleep cycle.
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