Inside us all we have an internal clockcalled the circadian rhythm whichoperates 24 hours. Throughout the day,a hormone called adenosine will build upin the brain which will make you feelincreasingly tired throughout the day.
This hormone will peak in the eveningleading up to bedtime. During sleep, thebrain breaks down the adenosine andyou wake up feeling refreshed.
Sleep is a restorative process and allowsus to change short term memories tolong term memories. It allows us tomaintain our creativity, concentrationand communication.
Sleep is also linked to our metabolismand immune system, therefore a lack ofsleep can slow our metabolism andmake us more susceptible to getting ill.