What happens to your body when you sleep? You probably know your whole body relaxes and your brain processes memory from the previous day. A good night’s rest can clear your mind and reset your mood. Researchers find that your brain can flush out toxins during sleep. It is sometimes referred to as the body’s toxic evaporation technique. Good sleep functions as the body’s natural detox process.
How Does Sleep Help the Brain Detox?
Sleep can increase the space between brain cells, flushing out damaging molecules in the brain that are associated with neurodegeneration. This means that when you sleep, the cellular structure of your brain is in a completely different state than when you are awake. It is like a plumbing system opening, letting healing fluid flow through brain cells.
How do toxic molecules related to neurodegenerative processes appear in the first place? Well, your body builds up toxins daily. Stress, anxiety, feelings of burnout, and more can lead to a build-up of toxins in your body. Stress also increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier with corticotropin-releasing hormones, which may cause neuroinflammatory conditions.
Sleep kicks off another detox activity in the body by releasing hormones to slow breathing and relax muscles. The release of these sleep-inducing hormones may reduce inflammation in the body. So, good sleep can decrease inflammation in your body. Similarly, lack of sleep may increase levels of inflammation in the body because it leads to a decrease in detox activity from the brain.
How Does Sleep Detox Heal Your Body?
When sleep helps your brain and entire body flush out toxic molecules, at the same time there tends to be an increased flow of blood, oxygen, and nutrients, leading to new healthy tissue growth. The regeneration of tissue can help some parts of the body heal from damage during the day. These damages may be caused by injury or exercise training. For example, intense resistance exercises may cause certain levels of muscle damage to proteins that make up muscle fibers.
Hormones released during sleep detox can help repair the body’s damage. Healthy sleep habits can also reduce the risk of certain neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. This is because the protein associated with this disease tends to decrease when you get enough sleep.
Why Do People Ignore Sleep Detox?
People use detox methods to flush out waste from the body through detox diets, drinks, fasting, and saunas. However, the easiest way to detox your body is to get a good night’s sleep. A good, regular sleep pattern is vital because many bodily and hormonal functions depend on that sleep rhythm.
Your body has an internal biological clock that regulates sleepiness and alertness. Overwork or social media consumption can disrupt that natural healthy rhythm. This can lead to compromising the body’s detox ability and key organs’ suboptimal functioning during the day. Take the liver for example. It plays a key role in body detox during sleep by filtering the blood to remove toxins. Lack of sleep or disrupted sleep patterns may affect the liver’s natural metabolic clock, putting the liver at a higher risk of harmful medical conditions.
People don’t always realize sleep is the best detox or certain things impede their sleep. Because of this, they may put things like dieting or over-indulgence in screen time above good sleep.
How Do You Ensure a Good Sleep Detox Every Night?
There are certain lifestyle changes you can make to boost your chance of getting good sleep each night. First, avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. These chemicals are stimulants and can make it difficult for you to fall asleep. It is a common misconception that moderate drinking of alcohol can prepare you for a relaxing sleep. The fact is, alcohol can make you sleep only lightly without enjoying the benefits of detox.
Setting up your bedroom for maximum peace can help the body relax. Keeping the light dim in the evenings can help your body release melatonin which is a sleep-regulating hormone. Equally important is the practice of turning on night-mode filters on all screens or even stopping screen time two hours before bedtime. Try to keep clutter minimal and the temperature ideal in your bedroom to create a comfortable sleep environment.
If you struggle to get enough sleep, examine your diet to see if you have been consuming too much sugar or processed foods. They may hinder the body’s natural detox processes. Cut down on junk food and opt for a diet of unprocessed food that balances all food groups for optimal nutrition. This can help the good bacteria in your gut grow, keeping your digestive system in a natural rhythm, which can be good for your sleep.
Did you know that a good night of sleep can not only help re-energize your body but also detox your brain? Brain science shows that the brain and other parts of the body depend on good sleep to repair and replenish. For people who are recovering from the harmful influence of drugs and alcohol, ensuring good sleep quality is especially healing for the brain, mood, and physical health. Adopting a holistic approach to addiction recovery, including relaxation techniques that enhance sleep, can help with your sober journey. At Laguna Shores Recovery, our team of licensed mental healthcare professionals and therapists are experts in building healthy sleeping habits into your custom treatment plan. Many of our staff have been in recovery themselves, so we understand the challenges. Our full medical and residential facility offers a range of treatments, including diagnosis, behavioral therapies, and 12-step programs. Call us today to start your journey of whole-body wellness.
References:
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/brain-may-flush-out-toxins-during-sleep
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/sleep-deprivation-increases-alzheimers-protein