Better Sleep Quality Ensures Lesser Fear

Getting a sound sleep each night is important to maintain a healthy and productive life. A sound sleep is one of the basic requirements of our body. Reduced activity in brain regions involved in fear learning is directly related to higher quality sleep patterns. The new research done in this regard suggests that our sleep quality may be a useful source of forecasting susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

There had been prior studies that were focused on getting the information that how single nights of sleep affects the maintenance of fear memories that are already-established in one’s mind. But now the study has taken a new way to co-relate the regular sleeping to the acquisition of these fear memories in the individual.

The study of young adults published in JNeurosci made the research about the sleeping pattern using a headband that measures brain waves, a bracelet that measures arm movements, and a sleep log and monitored the sleep for one week. It was found that the participants who spent more time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep exhibited weaker modulation of activity.

The research revealed that in rapid eye movement sleep reduces the levels of norepinephrine in the brain, which may also decrease an individual's sensitivity towards fear. Therefore it can be said that the quality of our sleep decides the level of fear that occurs in our mind while dreaming or that is already in our mind.

Content- www.sciencedaily.com

By- Anita Aishvarya