Library · Physiology
Sleep: what happens while we sleep?
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Sleeping is not the body shutting off, like flipping a switch and leaving the house dark until morning. Sleep is a state the body goes into and comes out of, reversible, taking turns with wakefulness, the state of being awake. Nothing inside it is on hold.
The night isn't uniform either. Sleep passes over and over through several stages called non-REM and through a REM phase, named for the rapid eye movements, the eyes darting back and forth under the lids. While that goes on, sleep is working: it has a hand in memory consolidation, the process that settles what you learned so it stays, and also in how metabolism and the immune response, the body's defense system, are regulated.
In brief
Sleep is a reversible biological state that alternates with wakefulness; it is not simply a passive pause in brain or body activity.
Throughout the night, sleep cycles repeatedly through several non-REM stages and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
Sleep contributes to memory consolidation, the process that helps stabilize newly learned information, and it also helps regulate metabolism and immune function throughout the body.
Sources (2)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteWhy Is Sleep Important?Published
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteHow Sleep Works: Sleep Phases and StagesPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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