Providing the body with nutrients is one of the most important steps toward well-being. But we’re giving you even more to take with you – today’s facts & interesting information about sleep and its most important functions! While we sleep peacefully, our body is running at full speed.
A paradox? No! During our sleep, our cleanup crew works on regenerating the body: at night, for example, free radicals are tackled. Damage caused during the day by environmental stress, UV radiation, nicotine, stress, and more is repaired.
Repair Optimization
The hormone that also makes us tired, melatonin, activates the repair team in our body at night. But melatonin has its limits. If the damage is too great, ruins remain here and there in the body – this is called the aging process. However, the more sleep, the more melatonin is produced. It’s logical that less can be repaired in 6 hours of sleep than in 8.
And: The darker the room, the more melatonin our body produces!
Night Makes Everything New
At the same time, our cell division rate is increased eightfold thanks to the growth hormone HGH. This is mainly released at night. What is HGH good for anyway? The better the cells divide, the better our body functions. You can see this on the outside in the skin, but it looks the same inside! One of the main causes of skin aging is that cell division slows down from the age of 25. While it still takes 21 days at this age, by 50 it already takes around 40 days!
By the way: Our hair also grows almost exclusively at night!
Easy to Fall Asleep
Have you ever wondered where puffy eyes in the morning come from? If we eat carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc.) after 5 p.m., the production of growth hormone is reduced. This not only leads to slower cell division but also causes puffy eyes in some people in the morning! If you want to avoid this problem, try eating only vegetables, fish, and meat in the evening. In general, it’s advisable to avoid carbohydrates in the evening. Why? HGH gets its energy from fat stores. That’s why sleeping also helps you stay slim! However, if we eat carbohydrate-heavy meals in the evening, the HGH opponent called insulin comes into play: it aims to store energy as fat and thus hinders HGH’s work. Any questions?
Conclusion
Provide the body with plenty of nutrients during the day so it has the chance to get us back into top shape at night!
And then: darken the room and sleep loooong! We wish you a good night’s sleep!
