What happens when we sleep? Detailed answer

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What happens when we sleep? Detailed answer

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What happens when we sleep?

We all know what sleep means to us. It restores our energy and helps us feel fresh again. Sleep is necessary for our tired organs and tissues.

It is strange, however, that science still cannot accurately explain how the process of sleep proceeds. It is believed that deep in the brain there is a very complex area known as the "sleep center". This center is regulated by blood. During the day, as a result of the activity of nerves and muscles, calcium is sent into the blood. It eventually stimulates the sleep center and we fall asleep.

If calcium goes directly to the sleep center, the person (or animal) will fall asleep immediately. But if calcium is injected into the blood stream, this does not happen. Obviously, certain chemicals that are released when we are tired must first "sensitize" the sleep center before it reacts to calcium and puts us to sleep.

In making us sleep, the sleep center does two things. It blocks the brain, depriving us of willpower, or consciousness. This is "brain sleep". It also cuts off the nerves from the brain, and our internal organs and limbs go to sleep. This is the "sleep of the body". Usually, when we sleep, both of these actions occur simultaneously.

However, they can also occur separately. For example, the brain can sleep while the body is still awake! A very tired soldier may continue to march, and at this time his brain may be in a dream! The same thing happens with sleepwalkers!

We may experience different types of sleep. Superficial sleep is less beneficial than deep sleep. The reason why short naps are often so refreshing is that they are usually deep naps!

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Why don't women have beards?

As feathers characterize birds, hair characterizes mammals. Why do mammals have hair (fur)? There are various reasons. Let's look at some of them.

The main value of hair is that it retains body heat. In the tropics, they can perform the opposite function. Some tropical animals have wool that protects them from the sun's rays. Very long hair on certain parts of the body serve special purposes.

For example, a mane can protect an animal's neck from an opponent's teeth. Tails can be used to beat flies. Tufts on the head can attract individuals of the opposite sex. The rigid quills of the porcupine, arranged in a fan, help him to attack the enemy. Hair or wool can also serve as organs of touch. Cats have special nerves on their whiskers that respond instantly to touch. So you see that hair in different mammals can serve different purposes.

What can be said about a person? We know that beautiful women's hair can be very attractive to men. But let's assume that earlier the hair of a person formally played a greater role than it does now. The baby is born with almost no hair. Soft, light hair soon appears. After the onset of puberty, the hairline changes and becomes the same as in an adult.

Hair development is regulated by the gonads. Male sex hormones promote the growth of body and facial hair. On the head, hair grows more slowly. Female sex hormones act just the opposite. They promote good hair growth on the head and resist hair growth on the face and body.

Women do not have mustaches and beards because the action of various glands and hormones in their body specifically prevents their growth. To explain why this is so, and why male hormones and glands promote beard growth, we must go back to early human history.

Previously, probably, the function of the beard was to be able to easily distinguish a man from a woman from afar. Perhaps the beard gave men a sense of power and dignity, making them more attractive to women. Nature helped men attract the opposite sex to them just as she did with other living beings.

Test your knowledge! Did you know...

▪ Who and how first showed that air has weight?

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Male and female perception of colors 21.06.2022

You can often hear the statement that men and women see things differently. It turned out that this is literally true.

Scientists have found that depending on gender, a person can see color more or less bright. For example, if the spouses look at the color orange, it will seem redder to the man than to the woman.

Experiments conducted at the City University of New York show that it is also difficult for men to notice subtle differences in shades of yellow, green and blue.

These discoveries were made as a result of experiments in which both sexes were shown flashes of light and had to name the shade they saw.

According to the researcher, Professor Israel Abramov, the difference in perception does not lie in the structure of the eye. The answer to this question lies in the activity of the brain. Male and female brains process information received as a result of contemplation in different ways.

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