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We've all been there before...you're in deep sleep when boom! your eyes open, you turn over, and of course it's 5:25AM and not 5:30AM and suddenly your day is just ruined! Now why would your brain play those games with you when your brain knows she clearly needs more sleep? Well, we had that same question and decided to solve that!
To make complex things simple, your body is controlled by a ball of nerves known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which sits in the middle of the brain. The nerves play a vital role as they control your blood pressure, body temperature, and most importantly, in unravelling this scientific mystery, our sense of time!
Our bodies are essentially one large alarm clock that tracks our sleep cycle to get an idea of when it should begin it's pre-sleep routine as well as the pre-wake-up cycle. A protein called PER is very important in this situation because it regulates your sleep-wake cycle. Scientists say that if you stick to a consistent sleep schedule, your body will learn to adapt and increase your levels of PER just before your alarm is due to go off. Low levels of this protein will lead to low blood pressure, which makes us groggier and ready for bed.
When you haven't woken up before the alarm, it can be a bit of a shock, and as a result, it can cause stress to your body. To avoid this, your body will naturally produce PER earlier in the night. This is the reason you may find yourself waking up a few minutes before the alarm goes off!
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