When we sleep, the body releases its ' growth hormone ', building up and repairing muscles and bones – but the details of how and why have been something of a mystery, until now.

Through a close analysis of brain circuitry in mice, researchers led by a team from the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) have found special mechanisms and feedback loops that regulate growth hormone release while we sleep .

The findings could help us better treat conditions that come with sleep problems, including type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease . Understanding sleep is the key to understanding a whole host of aspects of our health.

"People know that growth hormone release is tightly related to sleep, but only through drawing blood and checking growth hormone levels during sleep,

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