Sleep may help people process traumatic events

Sleeping soon after a traumatic event can help some people cope, a new Swiss study suggests. Two groups of volunteers were shown a video with traumatic images. One group slept for the night after seeing the video. The other group stayed awake. Participants recorded their memories of the images for several days.
"Our results reveal that people who slept after the film had fewer and less distressing recurring emotional memories than those who were awake," said study author Birgit Kleim. She is a clinical psychological scientist in the department of psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychosomatics at the University of Zurich.
"This supports the assumption that sleep may have a protective effect in the aftermath of traumatic experiences," she added in a university news release.
When we switch into REM sleep, our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular, and shallow, our eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises, and males develop penile erections. When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe bizarre and illogical tales-dreams. People awakened after sleeping more than a few minutes are usually unable to recall the last few minutes before they fell asleep. This sleep-related form of amnesia is the reason people often forget telephone calls or conversations they've had in the middle of the night. It also explains why we often do not remember our alarms ringing in the morning if we go right back to sleep after turning them off.
Sleep can help weaken emotions linked with memories, such as fear caused by a traumatic event. Sleep also helps people process and integrate distressing memories more effectively, the researchers said.
They noted there is a lack of early treatment options for people who have had traumatic experiences.
"Our approach offers an important noninvasive alternative to the current attempts to erase traumatic memories or treat them with medication," Kleim said. "The use of sleep might prove to be a suitable and natural early prevention strategy."
The study was published in the December issue of the journal Sleep.
HealthDay

Sleep may help people process traumatic events

Sleeping soon after a traumatic event can help some people cope, a new Swiss study suggests. Two groups of volunteers were shown a video with traumatic images. One group slept for the night after seeing the video. The other group stayed awake. Participants recorded their memories of the images for several days. Our results reveal that people who slept after the film had fewer and less distressing recurring emotional memories than those who were awake, said study author Birgit Kleim. She is a clinical psychological scientist in the department of psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychosomatics at the University of Zurich. This supports the assumption that sleep may have a protective effect in the aftermath of traumatic experiences, she added in a university news release. When we switch into REM sleep, our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular, and shallow, our eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises, and males develop penile erections. When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe bizarre and illogical tales-dreams. People awakened after sleeping more than a few minutes are usually unable to recall the last few minutes before they fell asleep. This sleep-related form of amnesia is the reason people often forget telephone calls or conversations theyve had in the middle of the night. It also explains why we often do not remember our alarms ringing in the morning if we go right back to sleep after turning them off. Sleep can help weaken emotions linked with memories, such as fear caused by a traumatic event. Sleep also helps people process and integrate distressing memories more effectively, the researchers said. They noted there is a lack of early treatment options for people who have had traumatic experiences. Our approach offers an important noninvasive alternative to the current attempts to erase traumatic memories or treat them with medication, Kleim said. The use of sleep might prove to be a suitable and natural early prevention strategy. The study was published in the December issue of the journal Sleep. HealthDay