It has been proven that sleep has a long list of physical and psychological causes Mental health Its benefits, and now a new study suggests that it can also help “erase” bad memories.
This is according to researchers from the University of Hong Kong, who implemented a procedure called “targeted memory reactivation” (TMR) to reactivate positive memories and weaken traumatic memories. While sleeping.
“Remembering distressing or distressing experiences can be deeply anxiety-inducing,” the researchers wrote in the findings published in the journal PNAS. “Sleep may provide an opportunity to reduce this suffering.”
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“We have developed a procedure to weaken old, aversive memories by reactivating newer, positive memories during sleep.”
A new study suggests that sleep can help “erase” bad memories. (Istock)
In the study, 37 participants were shown 48 “senseless words,” each paired with a different unpleasant image, before sleeping through the night.
The next evening, they were shown half the words paired with positive pictures from four categories: animals, children, people, and scenes.
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During subsequent “non-REM” sleep, the researchers presented “auditory memory cues.”
When participants woke up, they had less memory for negative images and stronger memory for positive images.
“Remembering distressing or distressing experiences can be extremely distressing,” the researchers wrote. “Sleep may provide an opportunity to reduce this suffering.” (Istock)
“Our findings are consistent with recent TMR research showing that episodic forgetting can occur through reactivation of intervening memories during sleep,” the researchers wrote in the study.
“Going beyond previous research on neutral memories, our results suggest that the TMR, which was preferentially reactivated, recently acquired positive memories and weakened old aversive memories, thus changing the fate of positive memories.” Emotional experiences“.
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Dr. Ernest Lee Murray, A Certified neurologist At Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, he noticed that TMR was a way to treat PTSD and other aversive (bad) memories.
“This is done by combining sensory signals with therapeutic interventions and then reintroducing these signals during specific sleep stages,” Murray, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
The sleep doctor said many patients reported improvements in mood and anxiety when sleep improved. (Istock)
The neurologist added that this treatment has been proven to reduce the emotional impact of aversive memories.
“This study not only shows suppression or impairment of the aversive memory, but it does so by reactivating more recent positive memories while the patient sleeps,” Murray said. “This will open the door to Additional research “In ways to weaken traumatic or other bad memories.”
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In addition to psychological treatments, medications are sometimes used to suppress nightmares or other unpleasant memories, he noted.
“This study continues to show ways to treat these conditions without requiring medication Use of medicationsWhich is often fraught with harmful side effects.”
“This study continues to show ways to treat these conditions without the use of medications, which are often fraught with harmful side effects,” the sleep doctor said. (Istock)
Alex Demetriou, MD, A Certified psychiatrist The sleep medicine physician and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California was also not involved in the study, but said it is “remarkable” in what it reveals about how the brain processes memories during sleep.
“Our brains unpack, process and repackage emotions while we sleep,” he told Fox News Digital. “I've questioned this before, and I often tell my patients that sleep is a cure for our emotions.”
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Many of the doctor's patients have reported improvement in Mood and anxiety When sleep improves.
“There is evidence that in REM sleep in particular, a lot of emotional processing and training occurs,” Demetriou said. “However, in this study, the intervention was in non-REM sleep, showing that emotions are processed in other sleep stages as well.”
The process of using TMR to suppress negative emotions and enhance positive memories can have a “huge impact” on people suffering from depression or trauma, an expert said. (Istock)
The process of using TMR to suppress negative emotions and enhance positive memories can have a “tremendous impact” on people with TMR Depression or shockThe expert said.
“I'm excited to see more research in this area, which essentially means we can learn and change while we sleep.”
Potential limitations
The researchers noted that the study had some limitations.
“Our brains unpack, process, and repackage emotions while we sleep.”
“First, although our experiment aimed to attenuate aversive memories, the laboratory-induced emotional experiences of viewing aversive/positive images may not mimic typical traumatic experiences,” they wrote.
They noted that it may also be difficult to find positive components in some very traumatic experiences.
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“Future research should explore ways to introduce intervening positive memories, such as positive autobiographical memories or treatment-related memories, to effectively impair real-life trauma memories,” the researchers said.
“The role of REM sleep in modulating emotional memories should be further studied,” the study authors wrote. (Istock)
“Second, the role of REM sleep in modulating emotional memories needs to be further studied.”
The study received ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Hong Kong.
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Funders included the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, among other grants.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the researchers for comment.
