6 things you do in your sleep without realising.

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Today is world sleep day. It’s time to get out your eye-masks and party all night long in a restful and horizontal way.

Sleep is a strange thing. One moment you are obsessively running through all the things you forgot to do that day, and the next moment BAM. Nothing. You’re out. Immobile for the next seven to nine hours.

For me, the mystery of what happens during this time is on par with the mystery of Stonehenge (seriously, how did those rocks get into that formation?), but luckily, there are cleverer people than I who can actually explain it.

I grilled Doctors and the Internet late one night about all the mysterious things that can happen while you slumber, and their answers did not make me sleep easy. I also obviously asked them to explain the mystery of Stonehenge, I am still waiting on their response.

In the meantime, here are the six slightly freaky things that happen to you in that mysterious time of “rest”.

1. You can sleep-text

If you can sleep walk, you can sleep text. According to Dr. Michael Gelb, a clinical professor at New York University’s College of Dentistry, sleep-texting is on the rise, with many people sending text messages while they sleep without remembering them the next morning.

This is not the same as drunk-texting. There's no excuse for that one unfortunately.

2. If you are sleep deprived as a child, you may be shorter as an adult.

Studies have suggested that children who are sleep deprived for a long period of time may be shorter, according to Dr Eunji Hwang. When children sleep, a Human Growth Hormone is released into the bloodstream that can't be released during sleep deprivation. This could mean that not having enough sleep during significant growth periods could result in becoming a shorter adult than their well-refreshed counterparts.

3. Your short-term memories are made into permanent memories

According to Dr Hijiri Suzuki, sleep consolidates your short-term memories into long-term memories. So if you want to forget something that happened in your day, just don't sleep. Ever.

Check out some of The Glow team's favourite products to use while we sleep (post continues after gallery)

The Glow team's favourite overnight beauty products

4. You can have sleep-sex

Hilarious when you first hear about it, but slightly disturbing when you really think about it. Known as Sexual Behaviours During Sleep, this sleep disorder is classified from "annoying to bed partner but not harmful", to "harmful to bed partners and others" in a study conducted by Stanford. I'll just let the significance of that "harmful to others" category sink in.

5. You can have temporary paralysis

Sleep paralysis is a state in which you feel awake, but cannot move your body or speak. In other words, it is completely terrifying.

It occurs in between 5 and 62 per cent of the population according to Prof J. D. Parkes from the Department of Neurology, Institute of Psychiatry at Denmark Hill. Not being part of that population, I can only commend those who have it for not making a bigger deal about it. You are all brave, brave souls.

6. You can't smell while you sleep

According to a Brown University study, sounds can wake you up, but not any kind of smell. This is why it's pretty important to have a working smoke alarm, as that blaring sound will wake most people, but the smell of smoke will not.

Having said this, I assume this loss of smell doesn't apply to bacon. That delicious cured meat could rouse me from the deepest slumber.

Tags: memories , sleep-2 , sleeping

6 things you had no idea your body did while you sleep.