10 Cool (And Crazy) Things Your Body Is Doing While You’re Asleep

7. Your Collagen Production Increases

Wondering why your skin looks lovely first thing in the morning? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that while we’re asleep, our body’s collagen production increase. Why? Well, when we sleep, we’re essentially fasting, and when we fast, growth hormone is released that tells our fat cells to release energy stores. As it happens, that same growth hormone also increases the amount of collagen that our skin produces.

8. Your Eyes Twitch

When we’re deep in sleep and dreaming, we’re in a state called REM sleep. Now REM stands for ‘rapid eye movement’ because when we’re in this part of our sleep cycle, our eyes move quickly from side to side. What is incredible is that scientists still don’t know exactly why this happens, but they do know that REM sleep is very important. In fact, if you’re able to track your sleep cycle (most cycles are about 90 minutes long), you’ll find that you’ll find it much easier to wake up at the end of a cycle, than in the middle of one.

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Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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