– If the brain releases chemicals that paralyse the body during sleep, how come people still turn around many times throughout the night?
In: Biology
That is because sleep always goes in cycles.
These chemicals are released during a REM cycle. You get about 4 of them and they last around 20/30 minutes.
These are the times where your brain activity is high but you get paralyzed becaude otherwise your body would act upon your brain activity.
Otherwise you are not paralyzed but your brain activity is extremely low. These are the times where you turn around.
When you toss and turn at night, you’re not asleep. You just transition to an awake state long enough to fall back asleep and don’t remember doing it.
Bc those chemicals aren’t released all night long. They’re only released during the relatively short dreaming phase of each sleep cycle. This is when you’re moving.
on this note, can anyone tell me how i can fall asleep fast and stay asleep? i literally toss and turn all night sometimes.
The brain doesn’t paralyze the body during sleep. Your brain releases more inhibitory neurotransmitters, like GABA, and other hormones, which help relax the voluntary muscles. But your involuntary muscles like your GI tract, cardiac and respiratory systems are still working. Even your skeletal muscles are still able to function, which is why limbs move, you shift position etc.
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