When night falls and all is quiet, and you drift into slumber, your consciousness gradually fades. Yet, your body does not come to a halt; instead, it initiates a precise and bustling nocturnal project. During these dark hours that we often overlook, an intricate silent feast is underway inside, with various organs working in seamless coordination to complete repairs and renewals that are impossible during the day. All of this relies on one precious prerequisite—high-quality sleep.
The Brain
When you close your eyes, your brain does not rest; instead, it enters another state of activity. It acts like a night shift commander, coordinating the body’s repair work.
During non-REM sleep, the brain begins its "cleanup operation." The gaps between brain cells expand by 60%, allowing cerebrospinal fluid to flush the brain more effectively and clear metabolic waste such as β-amyloid proteins that accumulate during the day. If these toxins build up excessively, they can impair brain function and even contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
At the same time, the brain is busy consolidating memories. The hippocampus engages in intense dialogue with the cerebral cortex, converting short-term memories into long-term ones, filtering important information, and discarding irrelevant details. This is why pulling an all-nighter to study is often less effective than getting a good night’s sleep—sleep itself is part of the learning process.
During REM sleep, brain activity nearly matches that of being awake, and we begin to dream. This stage is crucial for emotional regulation and creativity enhancement, as the brain reorganizes information and forms new neural connections.
The Eyes
Behind closed eyelids, the eyes are enjoying a rare moment of repair. During the day, our eyes continuously receive visual information, blinking 15-20 times per minute. During sleep, eye movement essentially stops (except during REM phases), and the eyelids act as a protective barrier, blocking light and dust.
While we sleep, the eyes secrete more tears to cleanse the surface of the eyeballs and remove impurities accumulated throughout the day. Corneal cells regenerate faster at night because, with the eyes closed, they are not directly exposed to the air, reducing evaporation and external irritation. Meanwhile, the pupils dilate in the darkness, allowing the intraocular muscles to fully relax.
Research has shown that chronic sleep deprivation can lead to dry eyes, blurred vision, and even optic nerve damage. Adequate sleep is the cornerstone of eye health, which is why we often feel "bright-eyed" after a good night’s rest.
The Heart
Sleep is a much-needed "vacation" for the cardiovascular system. When we lie down to rest, the heart does not have to work against gravity to pump blood throughout the body. Its workload decreases by approximately 10-20%, the heart rate drops by an average of 10-30 beats per minute compared to waking hours, and blood pressure decreases by 10-20%.
This "reduced-load mode" is crucial for heart health. Sustained high blood pressure and heart rate increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and people whose blood pressure does not drop at night (non-dipper blood pressure) have a significantly higher risk of heart disease. During sleep, the heart muscle undergoes repair, and the cardiovascular system clears inflammatory substances accumulated during the day.
Studies indicate that people who sleep less than six hours per night have a 20% increased risk of hypertension and a 48% increased risk of coronary heart disease. Sleep is like the heart’s nightly maintenance period; missing this window means the heart loses its opportunity for self-repair.
The Gut
After dinner, the digestive system still requires several hours to complete its work. During sleep, the digestive system shifts into low-intensity operation mode: intestinal peristalsis slows down, but digestive juices continue to be secreted, finishing any remaining digestion tasks.
The night is when intestinal cell renewal is most active. The intestinal epithelial cells completely renew every 2-4 days, a process that primarily occurs during sleep. Meanwhile, the gut microbiota also adjusts its balance at night, with beneficial bacteria becoming more active.
The liver enters an efficient detoxification mode at night, breaking down toxins, metabolizing alcohol and drug byproducts, and synthesizing essential proteins. The gallbladder also uses this fasting period to concentrate bile in preparation for the next day’s digestion.
Sleep deprivation disrupts the balance of hunger hormones, leading to decreased leptin (the satiety hormone) levels and increased ghrelin (the hunger hormone) levels. This is why people who stay up late often feel hungrier and are at a higher risk of obesity.
The Immune System
While you are deep asleep, the immune system is busy producing "defense weapons." During sleep, the body releases more cytokines, proteins that help regulate immune responses. T-cells and other immune cells become more active at night, identifying and attacking pathogens.
Fevers often worsen at night, which is actually a sign of the immune system working more efficiently. Research has found that even a single night of sleep deprivation can reduce natural killer cell activity by more than 70%, significantly increasing the risk of infection. People with chronic sleep deprivation also produce a weaker antibody response after vaccination.
The Endocrine System
Sleep is a critical period for hormone secretion. Growth hormone peaks during deep sleep stages. This hormone not only promotes growth and development in children but is also essential for adults—it helps repair tissues, build muscle, and break down fat.
Sleep regulates the balance of leptin and ghrelin, influencing appetite and metabolism. Sleep deprivation leads to increased cortisol (the stress hormone) levels and reduced insulin sensitivity, raising the risk of diabetes. The secretion of thyroid hormones, sex hormones, and others also follows circadian rhythms, relying on regular sleep.
Creating an Environment and
Habits for Quality Sleep
To ensure our organs get adequate repair, we need to create favorable sleep conditions and habits:
1. Maintain a regular sleep schedule, even on weekends, by waking up at a fixed time.
2. Create a dark, quiet, and cool sleep environment.
3. Avoid blue light devices before bed and reduce mental stimulation.
4. Avoid overeating at dinner and refrain from eating within three hours of sleep.
5. Exercise regularly but avoid intense workouts before bed.
6. Learn relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and meditation.
Sleep is not a blank page in life but another dimension of bodily operation. When we close our eyes and consciousness temporarily departs, an exquisite nocturnal symphony is unfolding inside our bodies. Each organ completes its unique repair tasks during this period, storing energy for the next day’s vitality.
Valuing sleep is valuing your own body. In this efficiency-driven era, we often sacrifice sleep time without realizing that we are overdrawn on our organs’ health balance. Tonight, as you prepare to sleep, perhaps think about that busy and precise world inside your body, and make yourself a promise: let sleep be a priority for health, not a compressible option.
For true health is not only shaped by the choices we make while awake but also nurtured by the repairs that occur while we are sound asleep.
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All of our mattresses feature premium German Suprelle anti-bacterial and anti-mite fiber. This specialized fiber achieves an outstanding anti-bacterial rate of up to 99%, meeting the stringent standards for baby-grade products. This provides our consumers with a healthier, more comfortable sleeping environment.
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