Your body goes through a lot during the 24 hours of a day, according to a new AsapScience video. From one sunrise to the next, here is what's happening to your sleep, hunger, attention span and, yes, even your sex drive.
MORNING
When you wake up: When your alarm goes off, you're in what's called a hypnopompic state, according to AsapScience. You're groggy and disoriented, but this will go away within about ten minutes -- or for some people, a few hours. Your body temperature is low, but your blood pressure is quickly rising. Cortisol -- the stress hormone, and also the hormone responsible for waking us up -- is pumping through the bloodstream.
An hour later: This is the best time to eat breakfast and enjoy your morning cup of coffee, as your cortisol levels have dipped by this time and you can reap more of coffee's benefits.
Mid-morning: This is when your mental state is peaking. According to the video, most people are at their sharpest between the two-and-a-half to four hours after waking up. But memory is affected as the day goes on: In the morning we forget an average of five facts, and in the afternoon it's more like fourteen.
AFTERNOON
Lunchtime: Your stomach can expand up to a whopping 2.5 pints to receive a meal, leading to a burst of energy.
Mid-afternoon: Ever fallen victim to the afternoon slump? There's a reason for that. Although that spike of energy from your lunch was great at first, a spike of insulin that's thought to pull a little too much glucose from the blood afterward causes you to feel drowsy and probably craving a nap (but hey, that's not such a bad idea).
Late afternoon: It may not be all that realistic for most of us to fit a workout in around 4:30 p.m., but according to AsapScience that's the best time to do it -- your core body temperatures are peaking and you may gain twenty percent more muscle strength.
EVENING
Post-work: It's a good thing happy hour falls when it does, because the body becomes more tolerant to the effects of alcohol around 6 p.m. (Though it's important to note that drinking in moderation is key anytime.)
Before bed: 11 p.m. is the most popular time for sexual activity, but this has more to do with our schedules than our bodies -- testosterone levels are actually lower in the evening and peak around 8 a.m., while semen quality is best in the afternoon.
While you sleep: Your body goes through quite a few phases during sleep. Your pineal gland secretes melatonin, which signals the beginning of the sleep cycle. As you start fall asleep your body experiences alpha waves, which lead to lower frequency theta brain waves, then longer delta waves and eventually REM sleep, which is when dreams are their most vivid and intense. REM sleep lasts and average of two hours a night.
So, what happens next? You wake up and do it all again. We've said it before and we'll say it again: The human body is pretty freaking amazing.
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