Maintaining a good night’s sleep is important for physical and mental health, as it strengthens the immune system and helps reduce stress, among other benefits. However, a new study has shown that quality sleep can also help to avoid bad thoughts and unwanted memories throughout the day.
THE workpublished in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on December 31, offers new insight into the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the connection between sleep and mental health. Furthermore, the discoveries can support the development of new treatments and prevention strategies for diseases such as depression and anxiety.
Researchers from the Universities of York, Cambridge and Sussex, in the United Kingdom, and Queen’s University, in Canada, used functional neuroimaging for their work and discovered that sleep deprivation can lead to deficits in memory control.
This is related to the difficulty in engaging brain regions that support the inhibition of memory retrieval, which makes it easier for unwanted memories to suddenly return to consciousness. The researchers also point out that the rejuvenation of these brain regions is associated with REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
“Memories of unpleasant experiences can invade consciousness, often in response to reminders,” explains Marcus Harrington, lead author of the study, in statement. “Although these intrusive memories are an occasional, momentary disturbance for most people, they can be recurrent, vivid and disturbing for individuals who suffer from mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder,” he explains.
How was the study carried out?
For the study, 85 healthy adults tried to suppress unwanted memories while researchers analyzed images of their brains using functional MRI. Half of the participants got a restful night’s sleep in the sleep lab before the task, while the other half remained awake.
During memory suppression, well-rested participants showed more activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex — a region of the brain that controls thoughts, actions and emotions — compared to those who stayed up all night.
Rested participants also showed reduced activity in the hippocampus — a region of the brain involved in memory retrieval — during attempts to suppress unwanted memories.
Furthermore, among participants who slept in the laboratory, those who had longer REM sleep were better able to engage the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during memory suppression. This points to the role of REM sleep in restoring prefrontal control mechanisms that underpin the ability to prevent unwanted memories from intrusive.
“Taken together, our findings highlight the critical role of sleep in maintaining control over our memories and ongoing thoughts,” says Harrington.
This content was originally published in Good night’s sleep can prevent unwanted and intrusive memories, says study on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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