One of the main molecules that the body uses for energy is adenosine triphosphate, also known as ATP. When cells form adenosine, the bond between the last two phosphate groups of ATP breaks and a new molecule, adenosine diphosphate also known as ADP, is formed and energy is released. You many be asking, why does this matter? This matters because it plays a very important when it comes to sleep. In the brain, adenosine makes activity slow down cause the person to feel sleepy. In fact, one of the main roles of adenosine is that it is used to tell the body when the person needs to go to sleep.
A region that involves the brain is the hypothalamus. This is a peanut-sized structure that is deep inside the brain that switches the brain between awakeness and sleepiness. It also helps increase the production of melatonin which leads to sleep. The image below shows the hypothalamus and where it is located in the human brain.
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