What’s Up While You’re Sleeping?

8/18/2025

Complex processes contribute to health and well-being

TUCSON, AZ (Aug. 18, 2025) – We know getting a good night’s sleep is important for the body, but what about the brain?

According to many studies, your overall brain health and well-being depend on the complex internal work going on while you’re at rest. Sleep frees your brain to experience important changes and processes, including cleaning out things it doesn’t need, consolidating memories, sending signals for the creation of hormones, and strengthening communication between brain cells.

Sleep may seem passive, but the brain is actively engaged – and if its complex processes don’t happen completely, you may experience less effective physical and mental functioning. A night of insufficient or poor-quality sleep can affect your brain’s ability to input and process information learned during the day – and to remember the following morning.

Good sleep takes time, because the brain’s repair processes vary throughout multiple sleep cycles of rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. In a typical sleep period, you will cycle through four or five times. People who get insufficient total sleep may not progress through enough sleep cycles to get the restorative benefits that come from proper rest.

According to the Sleep Foundation, sleep and the body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythms, play an important role in production and regulation of several hormones affecting overall health. As light exposure decreases, your body naturally produces melatonin to help you sleep. Levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, reach their lowest point a few hours after sleep begins and start climbing as you get closer to waking up. Sleep can also affect the production of growth hormone that supports bone and muscle development – and the levels of leptin and ghrelin that regulate your appetite.

A few tips for a better night’s sleep:

• Lower the temperature in your bedroom and keep the room dark.
• Have a consistent bedtime. Follow a relaxing routine to wind down your mind and body beforehand – try meditation, simple stretching, reading or taking a bath.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine – and try to minimize your intake of liquids two hours before bedtime so you are less likely to need to get up in the middle of the night.

If you have an ongoing problem getting a good night’s sleep, or frequently experience insomnia, talk to your primary care provider. He or she may refer you for a sleep study to determine if a disorder such as restless leg syndrome or disrupted breathing from sleep apnea are reducing your restorative sleep.

Better sleep is an indispensable ingredient for a longer life. Get in the driver’s seat and sign up for Enjoy the Ride: Navigating a Longer, Healthier Life, a free, 12-day email series designed to help you map out lasting longevity. The series begins on Monday, Sept. 15.

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