For most people, the word “sleep” conjures up peace and relaxation after a long day. However, your body undergoes many changes during the hours that you are unconscious. From undoing the day’s harm to preparing for the day ahead, the human body is constantly sorting, repairing, and refreshing. So next time you wake up feeling like a different person, know that there may be some truth to the thought.

10 Filing Away Memories

Human beings are very active organisms. We do things, go places, and interact with people, all the while creating memories. Memories are stored in the brain. But as anybody who has ever tried to find a file on a crowded desktop knows, saved things are of no use if they cannot be easily accessed and found.

During sleep, the brain actually replays the day’s events, catalogs them, and stores them in the brain’s long-term memory centers. Simultaneously, the brain discards unnecessary memories.This storing of important long-term memories is critical to humans being able to function properly.

This is because long-term memory is essentially limitless and set in stone, meaning that these memories will stay with you for your lifetime.Most people can remember specific memories from their childhood very vividly but have a much harder time remembering exactly what they did two days ago.

This kind of memory prioritization is essential for learning and retaining information as well as developing skills like problem-solving or mastery of a sport or game.Most of this memory consolidation occurs during one of the deepest parts of sleep, slow-wave sleep, in which there is little other brain activity. As the mind transitions into REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the brain then stabilizes the critical memories for quick recall later.

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