What are the biological processes that occur inside the body during sleep? (not the sleep stages)?
154162
I guess it just gives your body time to rest. you organ's don't seam to work as hard so it give's the body time to heal it's self and rest up for the next day. This is just a guess mind you.
484390
Pinealocytes, neuron-like cells in the Pineal Gland, produce melatonin which is derived from serotonin. They induce rhythmic changes in the body in response to light. Melatonin levels rise at night and make us sleepy. Melatonin plays a role in our light-dark cycles and its secretion (or lack thereof) is one basis for our feelings associated with jet lag. \n\nThe responses generated by the Pineal Gland and its secretions make it the biological clock of the body.
890689
During sleep, we usually pass through five phases of sleep. Some people say four phases or two phases. These stages progress in a cycle from stage 1 to rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, then the cycle starts over again with stage 1. \n\nThese sites discuss them in detail.
547423
dream can simply be defined as a  series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. .Dreams do not need light or any other medium to produce images...In psychology there is what we refer to as REM Sleep...Dreams occur when we undergo what we refer to as REM Sleep...REM Sleep can simply be defined as a state of sleep that recurs cyclically several times during a normal period of sleep and that is characterized by increased neuronal activity of the forebrain and midbrain, by depressed muscle tone, and especially in humans by dreaming, rapid eye movements, and vascular congestion of the sex organs -- called also paradoxical sleep, rapid eye movement sleep..Our mind stores images like a computer...We retrieve these images when we undergo REM Sleep(Rapid Eye Movement)...Now...You will say that we do not dream all what we see...This is where your subconcious mind comes in...What your subconscious mind stores is also a part of what you dream...Your subconscious mind is that part of your mind that you are not aware of..You can also say it is that part of the mind that exists but not immediately available to consciousness.When U dream scary dreams,the part of your mind that produces those dreams is the subconcious mind.Your subconcious mind stores your fears and many other aspect of your feelings...Has this been able to decipher the mystery of dreams a bit?
390076
During sleep, the brain is still operating even though we are not conscience of the thought patterns and usually cannot control the images, sounds and information that comes along. A dream is the brain's way of organizing this information into a form that it is used too. Tossing and turning in bed are ways in which the brain inadvertantly "pulls strings" with the rest of the body. Talking is not too far from that. The patterns that move around the brain might just trigger speech.
624963
During Puberty the Boy's body will change, A LOT:\nSometime, usually when a boy is sleeping, the Pituitary Gland sends a chemical message to the Testes to produce more Testosterone, which is released into the bloodstream \nand to begin making sperm. From this moment on, the body begins to change:\n\nThe Genitals enlarge\nPubic and Underarm hair develops as does body and facial hair\nThe face becomes more oval\nGrowth Spurts will occur\nA different type of sweat appears in Underarm, pubic regions and belly button\nThe voice box enlarges, making the voice deeper
649112
The brain is an organ of the body, like any other organ, in that it has a distinctive structure and tissue types specific to the brain.  Thus, it is a biological entity.  Psychology is a study of our mental processes and behaviour, not the actual biology of the brain organ.
491303
Activity such as sex? What else are we talking about?\n\nYeah, many substances are secreted from certain areas of the body after certain stimuli (sex, physical activity, stress, infection, you name it).
943224
The endocrine system  regulates mood, growth and development, tissue function, metabolism, and sexual function and reproductive processes.It is in charge of body processes that occur slowly. The most imporant parts of the endocrine system are hormones and glands. Hormones transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another and only affect certain cells. Glands produce and secrete chemicals. A gland selects and removes materials from the blood, processes them, and secretes the finished chemical product for use somewhere in the body.
20719
You are probably referring to metabolism.  Metabolism is a collection of chemical reactions that takes place in the body's cells to convert the fuel in the food we eat into the energy needed to power everything we do, from moving to thinking to growing. Specific proteins in the body control the chemical reactions of metabolism, and each chemical reaction is coordinated with other body functions. In fact, thousands of metabolic reactions happen at the same time - all regulated by the body - to keep our cells healthy and working.
1580
Nobody knows for sure; however, there are many theories.  Below is a very plasable one:\n\nJerome Siegel, of the University of California in Los Angeles, along with colleagues elsewhere, has suggested a third possibility. Writing in a special review of sleep in the current issue of Nature, Dr Siegel says that it may be related to defence against oxidative stress. Smaller animals have higher metabolic rates, and this results in the generation of higher levels of small, highly reactive molecules such as free radicals. Studies on rats show that when they are deprived of sleep, their oxidative stress increases. Dr Siegel proposes that animals with higher metabolic rates need more sleep to interrupt and protect against this kind of oxidative damage, as well as repairing any damage done.
695821
for infants, 12 hours; for adolescents 10 hours; for middle aged 8 hours; and for sexagenarians 4 hours.  Sleep rejuvenates the dead cells, while it relaxes our mind and body.  REM?
317396
Your brain is the most important organ in your body, and also it's particularly helpful for school. When you concentrate your brain will use 20% of the glucose in your body. You therefore need to get out of bed early so that you can A) wake up your brain, and B) feed your body which will allow for the intake of glucose to your brain when you need it.....
1165149
It is unknown where in the brain dreams originate — if there is such a single location — or why dreams occur at all. However, there are many competing theories of the neurology of dreams.\n\nDuring a typical lifetime a person spends about 6 years dreaming[1] (which is about 2 hours each night[2]).\n\nThe activation synthesis theory developed by Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley asserts that the sensory experiences are fabricated by the cortex as a means of interpreting random signals from the pons. They propose that in REM sleep, the ascending cholinergic PGO (ponto-geniculo-occipital) waves stimulate higher midbrain and forebrain cortical structures, producing rapid eye movements. The activated forebrain then synthesizes the dream out of this internally generated information. They assume that the same structures that induce REM sleep also generate sensory information.[3] Memory, attention and the other features lacking in the dream state are taken to depend on the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin, which are present in reduced concentrations during REM sleep. This chemical change is hypothesized to produce a psychotic state, as well as a lack of orientation.
551118
"Sleepwalking usually occurs during the slow-wave stages of non–rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (stages of sleep in which eye movement does not take place; Sleepwalking usually occurs during the slow-wave stages of non–rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (stages of sleep in which eye movement does not take place;"\nSome factors are genetic, environmental, and physiological in nature--may include family history, sleep deprivation, chaotic sleep schedules, fever, stress, magnesium deficiency, and alcohol intoxication can trigger sleepwalking, and certain drugs.
702299
If you're willing to do a little reading about this, there is an excellent book called "The Promise of Sleep" by Dr. William Dement, available at Amazon.  Dr. Dement was one of the founding researchers in the field of sleep research and formed the Stanford sleep lab.\n\nA good summary of five stages of sleep (six stages if you include waking), is here:  http://www.sleepdisorderchannel.com/stages.
453533
No. When you're really sleeping, your brain activity changes. These changes can be detected on an EKG, so they're for real. REM, or Rapid Eye Movement, is a very important stage of sleep (when you dream you're in REM sleep). Studies have shown that without it people have difficulties learning and functioning mentally throughout the next day.