Every year, millions of surgical patients benefit from general anesthesia, which acts on the central nervous system (CNS) to induce reversible loss of consciousness. However, general anesthetics also modulate other physiological activities through the CNS, increasing the risk of perioperative mortality and complications associated with brain functions. The influences of general anesthesia in perioperative cognition, emotion, and other advanced brain functions are gaining increasing attentions. Unfortunately, little is known about the mechanisms of general anesthetics on other significant physiological functions. Here, we have systemically reviewed the clinical and experimental researches on perioperative sleep disturbance, perioperative hypothermia and fasting, in order to give a comprehensive understanding of the interactions of general anesthesia and the intrinsic physiological functions, including sleep and circadian, body temperatures, as well feeding and energy metabolism.