It is a fact that, in psychology and medicine, one of the areas of study that presents more mysteries and attraction is that related to sleep and dreams, sleep and dreaming is useful and essential, and there are many theories that try to explain it. this topic, but there are still no precise and definitive answers about the great purpose of sleep, the fundamental reason for dreams, or what would happen if we did not have them.
Lack of sleep has a serious negative impact on our body and mind. Without going any further, the most widely used method of torture in ancient times was sleep deprivation, which was found to cause hallucinations, delusions and major mental changes.
- However.
- The ultimate goal of sleep has not yet been discovered.
- Perhaps the best approach is one that refers to falling asleep as the factor that helps regulate memories and learning each day.
- Which is not yet clear is how this effect affects.
- Occurs or by what mechanism.
Dream activity is critical to our well-being, even if we do not know what is the key factor in this whole process full of mysteries and uncertainties.
The truth is that if we do not dream, we cannot obtain such effective relief and rest, whether or not we remember the content of sleep.
At the University of Berkeley ( USA), a scientific study has revealed new data on the positive effects associated with sleep reconciliation: a total of 35 volunteers, divided into two groups, were exposed to 150 images of shocking emotional content.
One group was then assigned the task of sleeping, while members of the other group had to stay awake for 12 hours.
After this time, all the same people reviewed these images by recording their activity in the brain amygdala (the region of the brain responsible for processing emotions) using MAGNETIC resonance imaging.
As scientists had previously predicted, the group that had fallen asleep showed a significant reduction in the activity of the brain amygdala, which caused a decrease in emotional levels in the people, who were able to review the images with a lower level of anxiety . group of people, the effect was of great importance, since activity levels decreased considerably.
Apparently, this means that the REM phase has the role of “therapist” because it minimizes the memories and anxiety of the previous day, thanks to a chemical activity that softens emotional strength.
So you know, when you’re overwhelmed by your worries and sadness, pay special attention to the quality of your sleep and the number of hours of rest. We often do the exact opposite; this means that we add to negative internal states the bad habit of sleeping less than necessary.
That only makes things worse
Sleeping well and dreaming won’t solve all your problems in the blink of an eye, but it will certainly help you feel less anxious and face each new day and its challenges with a different mind.
Image courtesy of Taylor Dawn Fortune