{"id":13756,"date":"2025-01-02T20:27:34","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T20:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=13756"},"modified":"2025-01-02T20:27:35","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T20:27:35","slug":"new-research-unveils-how-sleep-prevents-unwanted-memories-from-intruding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-research-unveils-how-sleep-prevents-unwanted-memories-from-intruding\/","title":{"rendered":"New Research Unveils How Sleep Prevents Unwanted Memories From Intruding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A new study led by the University of East Anglia unveils how sleep, especially REM sleep, plays a crucial role in preventing unwanted memories from intruding into our thoughts, with implications for mental health treatments.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) have made an intriguing discovery that could pave the way for innovative mental health treatments. Their recent study connects poor sleep with deficits in brain regions responsible for keeping unwanted thoughts at bay, shedding light on why sleep problems often correlate with mental health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2400743122\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Published<\/a> in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), this new research identifies the cognitive and neural mechanisms linking sleep and mental health. The findings could lead to new strategies for addressing conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Led by Marcus Harrington, a lecturer at UEA\u2019s School of Psychology, the research employed functional neuroimaging to observe brain activity related to memory control during sleep deprivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMemories of unpleasant experiences can intrude into conscious awareness, often in response to reminders,\u201d Harrington said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uea.ac.uk\/about\/news\/article\/new-study-reveals-that-sleep-prevents-unwanted-memories-from-intruding\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">news release<\/a>. &#8220;While such intrusive memories are an occasional and momentary disturbance for most people, they can be recurrent, vivid and upsetting for individuals suffering from mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eighty-five healthy adults participated in the study, attempting to suppress unwanted memories while their brain activity was imaged using functional MRI (fMRI). Half of the participants had a restful night&#8217;s sleep in a sleep lab, while the other half remained awake all night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The well-rested participants showed significantly higher activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex \u2014 a brain area governing thoughts, actions and emotions \u2014 compared to those who were sleep-deprived. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, those who slept exhibited lower activity in the hippocampus, a region essential for memory retrieval, during attempts to suppress unwanted memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among those who slept, individuals who enjoyed more time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep demonstrated better engagement of the prefrontal cortex during memory suppression, suggesting REM sleep&#8217;s role in rejuvenating brain areas necessary for controlling intrusive memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGiven that memories play a central role in our affective perception of the external world, memory control failures may go a long way towards explaining the relationship between sleep loss and emotional dysregulation,\u201d Harrington added. \u201cA better understanding of the mechanisms that precipitate the occurrence of intrusive memories is vital to improving emotional well-being and reducing the global burden of mental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He concluded by adding, \u201cTaken together, our findings highlight the critical role of sleep in maintaining control over both our memories and ongoing thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) have made an intriguing discovery that could pave the way for innovative mental health treatments. Their recent study connects poor sleep with deficits in brain regions responsible for keeping unwanted thoughts at bay, shedding light on why sleep problems often correlate with mental health issues. Published [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mental-health"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Researchers led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) have made an intriguing discovery that could pave the way for innovative mental health treatments. Their recent study connects poor sleep with deficits in brain regions responsible for keeping unwanted thoughts at bay, shedding light on why sleep problems often correlate with mental health issues. 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