Kirk Watkins, sleep disorder specialist at the Dixie Regional Medical Center Sleep Disorders Clinic, discusses sleep science with The Spectrum.
Watkins explained one of the biochemical processes that occur during sleep this way: “It is well known that exercise causes a buildup of lactic acid in muscles. With muscle rest, the body is able to metabolize the buildup of lactic acid, and then the muscles are ready to exercise again. Wakefulness likewise causes a byproduct buildup within the body, primarily within the brain, called adenosine.”
