What Is The Influence Of Sleep On Our Life?
It is well known that, within psychology and medicine, one of the study areas that still today is partly shrouded in mystery and arouses great curiosity is that of sleep. Even if sleeping and dreaming are useful and essential activities, and there are numerous theories that try to explain why we are forced to do so, certain and definitive answers have not yet been found on the deeper reason for sleep and on what would happen if we did not dream.
The effects of sleep on our daily well-being
Lack of sleep has serious negative repercussions on our body and mind. Suffice it to say that one of the most used tortures in ancient times was sleep deprivation, which caused hallucinations, delusions and serious cognitive alterations. However, the true usefulness of sleep has not yet been fully revealed, even if the most accredited theory is that sleep allows us to organize memories and systematize daily learning. What is still not entirely clear, however, is how this effect is achieved and through what mechanisms.
The dream activity is also fundamental for our well-being, but we do not yet know what are the hidden secrets behind this mysterious process. What is certain, however, is that without dreams we would not be able to get that feeling of rest and relief given by sleep, regardless of whether or not we remember them when we wake up. In a nutshell: our daily sufferings find relief in sleep.
What does scientific research tell us?
A study from the University of Berkeley, in the United States, has revealed new data on the positive effects related to the reconciliation of dreams. A group of 35 volunteers, divided into two groups, were subjected to 150 images with a strong emotional impact. Subsequently, one of the two groups was allowed to sleep, while the people of the other group remained awake for 12 hours. Once this time had elapsed, everyone was shown the same images again, recording the activity of their amygdala (the region of the brain in charge of processing emotions) through an MRI.
Just as suspected, the group that had slept was found to have a significant reduction in brain amygdala activity. All this also caused a lowering of the emotional levels of these people, who were able to look at the images with a much lower feeling of anxiety than those who had not slept. In fact, during the REM sleep phase, the levels of emotional activity decreased significantly. Apparently, this means that the REM phase plays a sort of “therapeutic” role on us, since it helps to alleviate the memories and anxieties of the day before, through a chemical activity that soothes the emotional strength.
Now you know what to do: when you feel anguished because of the problems and the thousands of responsibilities, pay particular attention to the quality of your sleep and the number of hours you sleep. Many times, in fact, we do exactly the opposite. When we feel unwell, we add to our negative emotions the unhealthy habit of sleeping less than we should, but this only makes the situation worse.
Sleeping well and being able to dream will not solve your problems overnight, but it will certainly help you feel less anxious and face the challenges of the new day with an extra gear.
Image courtesy of Taylor Dawn Fortune
