Staff Perspective: The Protective Value of REM Sleep
We all know the benefits of a good night’s sleep. Most of us feel better, physically and emotionally with some solid sleep the night before. A recent study suggests that rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep may be even more important than that. It may function as a protective factor, reducing fear-related activity in the brain. This reduction in fear may help prevent the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
While much research has been done on sleep impairment after the onset of PTSD, this looked at the effect of sleep beforehand. The Rutgers study published in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests “that baseline Rapid-Eye-Movement (REM) sleep may serve a protective function against enhanced fear encoding through the modulation of connectivity between the hippocampus, amygdala, and the ventromedial PFC. Building on this finding, baseline REM measurements may serve as a non-invasive biomarker for resilience to trauma or, conversely, to the potential development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following trauma.” To read more, check out the article here.
Speaking of sleep, we’ve got an online training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) coming up on 14-15 November. For more information or to register, visit our website here.
We all know the benefits of a good night’s sleep. Most of us feel better, physically and emotionally with some solid sleep the night before. A recent study suggests that rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep may be even more important than that. It may function as a protective factor, reducing fear-related activity in the brain. This reduction in fear may help prevent the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
While much research has been done on sleep impairment after the onset of PTSD, this looked at the effect of sleep beforehand. The Rutgers study published in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests “that baseline Rapid-Eye-Movement (REM) sleep may serve a protective function against enhanced fear encoding through the modulation of connectivity between the hippocampus, amygdala, and the ventromedial PFC. Building on this finding, baseline REM measurements may serve as a non-invasive biomarker for resilience to trauma or, conversely, to the potential development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following trauma.” To read more, check out the article here.
Speaking of sleep, we’ve got an online training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) coming up on 14-15 November. For more information or to register, visit our website here.