Why do we not feel pain under general anesthesia? Is it the same for regular sleep?

Question

I’m curious what mechanism is at work here.

Edit: Thanks for the responses. I get it now. Obviously I am still enjoying the discussion RE: the finer points like memory, etc.

In: Biology

Answer 1

What if anesthesia just made you forget the excruciating pain afterwards ?

(I know it’s not the case, just wanted to share a rather terrifying thought)