Fat Metabolism Holds the Key to Why We Need Sleep

"What scientists now recognize is that sleep is hardwired into your biology as a survival mechanism. The process of creating energy in your cells isn't perfectly clean. Each day, your mitochondria - the power plants inside every cell - leak electrons and generate toxic byproducts. These molecules are so harmful that your brain forces you into sleep, shutting down activity so your body can repair the damage before it spirals out of control."

"Understanding sleep in this way reframes it as a metabolic safeguard, not wasted time. It explains why you feel heavy fatigue after stressful days or long bouts of endurance exercise - the fuel mix in your body has shifted in ways that clog your energy system and accelerate cellular stress. At the same time, it shows why people with healthier metabolisms often get by with far less sleep: their mitochondria run cleaner, leak fewer electrons, and create less damage to repair."

Sleep functions as a biological survival mechanism that prevents accumulation of mitochondrial damage by shutting down brain activity to allow cellular repair. Mitochondria leak electrons daily, producing toxic byproducts that, if not cleared, drive the brain to impose sleep. Metabolic state influences sleep need: stress or prolonged exercise shifts fuel use and increases mitochondrial leakage and cellular stress, producing stronger sleep pressure, while cleaner mitochondrial function reduces required sleep. Researchers mapped mitochondrial shifts in fruit flies and found that sleep deprivation causes sleep-control neurons to dramatically alter mitochondrial function, linking cellular metabolic state to sleep drive.

Read at Natural Health News