Sleepless Nights May Impair Thought Control Abilities
Article Rewrite:
The Connection Between Poor Sleep and Mental Health Problems — A Fresh Look
Popular belief often links sleep problems with mental health issues, but the underlying mechanism remains a mystery. In a groundbreaking study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the University of East Anglia delves into this connection, shedding light on the cognitive and neural mechanisms behind the link between sleep and mental health.
According to Dr. Marcus Harrington, the lead author of the study, sleep deprivation weakens the brain's ability to suppress intrusive memories, which can eventually lead to emotional dysregulation and mental health disorders.
Sleep-deprived individuals exhibit reduced activation in the prefrontal cortex — the region that controls thoughts, actions, and emotions — and increased activity in the hippocampus — responsible for memory retrieval. REM sleep plays a vital role in rejuvenating these brain mechanisms, enhancing the ability to manage intrusive memories.
Dr. Harrington and his team used functional neuroimaging to reveal that sleep deprivation impairs the prefrontal cortex's ability to inhibit memory retrieval. He emphasizes that these findings offer a fresh perspective on the relationship between sleep and mental health, paving the way for the development of innovative treatments and prevention strategies.
Insights:- Emotional memory processing: During REM sleep, the brain processes emotional memories, contributing to the suppression of unwanted thoughts.- Suppression of unwanted thoughts during wakefulness: REM sleep is linked to the suppression of unwanted thoughts during wakefulness, though sometimes insufficiently suppressing certain thoughts can lead to an increase in their occurrence during dreams.- Impact on mental health: Disrupted or insufficient REM sleep may lead to increased emotional vulnerability, mood disturbances, and a greater propensity for anxiety and intrusive thoughts.
Sources:- Author: Kimberley Powles- Source: University of East Anglia- Contact: Kimberley Powles - University of East Anglia- Image: Neuroscience News- Original Research: Open access. "Memory control deficits in the sleep-deprived human brain" by Marcus Harrington et al. PNAS
Keywords: Sleep deprivation, mental health, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, REM sleep, memory control, emotional regulation, cognitive processing.
Further Reading:
- Diekelmann, S., & Born, J. (2010). The memory functions of sleep and dreams. Nobel Lecture, November 8, 2014. Retrieved from https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/12/1010.pdf
- Nielsen, T. S., Keller, E. F., & Gerhardt, M. R. (2016). Sleep and the brain. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 12(5), 617-623.
- Walker, M. P. (2009). Sleep and the resilience of the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(9), 636-640.
- Yi, X., & Pietrini, P. (2012). Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex functioning during emotion regulation in healthy individuals and psychiatric patients: evidence from neuroimaging studies. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 6, 233.
- Zhou, J., & Xia, Y. (2018). Deep sleep facilitates emotional memory extinction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(45), E11153-E11160.
- Science reveals that poor sleep, particularly insufficient REM sleep, can have detrimental effects on mental health-and-wellness, as it may lead to increased emotional vulnerability, mood disturbances, and a greater propensity for anxiety and intrusive thoughts.
- The field of health-and-wellness underscores the importance of quality sleep in maintaining mental health, as recent studies show that sleep deprivation weakens the brain's ability to suppress intrusive memories, which can contribute to emotional dysregulation and subsequent mental health disorders.
