"To understand why sleep is vital to our health, we first have to understand the maintenance roles that sleep plays in restoring the body, regulating the brain, and resetting emotions. The Science of Sleep: 5 Vital Functions of a Good Night's Sleep During sleep, stress hormones like cortisol slow down, while repair hormones like growth hormone increase, giving the body space to heal and rebuild."
"I still remember the first time I stumbled onto the " sleeping aid" property of alcohol. I was 15, going through my first breakup, and had been losing sleep for nearly two months. The couple of beers "prescribed" by my roommate sent me into a slumber within minutes after my head hit the pillow. I remember feeling both comforted and thrilled the next morning,"
Many people rely on alcohol as a nightcap because it quickly induces sleep, but even one drink undermines sleep's restorative functions. Sleep reduces stress hormones like cortisol while increasing repair hormones such as growth hormone, creating space for healing and rebuilding. Sleep gives the cardiovascular system downtime by lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Nighttime cytokine production supports immune responses, and poor sleep reduces cytokine output. Sleep enables brain reconstruction, formation of new neural connections, and updating of existing pathways. Severe sleep deprivation is lethal in animal studies, demonstrating sleep's primal biological necessity.
Read at Psychology Today
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