Contents
Sleep helps us heal emotional wounds
Sleep
The REM phase is essential to connect with the experiences of the day and experience them in a more relaxed way
During the hours of sleep We go through different phases, because our dream is changing. Throughout the night we experience the phases of light sleep, deep sleep and REM, each with functions, all necessary and complementary to each other.
Emma’s sleep research team explains that although it is believed that the most important thing during rest is to achieve deep sleep phase, This is not like this. “This is crucial to feeling refreshed the next morning, as it is the most restorative phase and is associated with vital functions, such as the production of growth hormones, strengthening the immune system, repair and regrowth,” they explain, but They add that the
The assumption that deep sleep alone determines how long we should sleep is incorrect.
“The lighter sleep, the N2 sleep stage, for example, also contributes to the processing and consolidation of memory and plays a fundamental role in learning and automating movement sequences, ”the experts explain. On the other hand, there is the REM phase “characterized by rapid eye movements”, it plays a very important role for our mental health, among other things. Professionals comment that during this phase, “concentrations of the stress-related, anxiety-triggering chemical norepinephrine are turned off within the brain, while the amygdala and hippocampus, important brain structures related to memory and emotion, are simultaneously reactivated ». They also ensure that this process is the one that allows the processing of memories or experiences ”, so it is likely that this is the reason why REM sleep deprivation has been shown to increase irritability and anxiety.
What is the REM phase for?
It is essential to understand then that each phase of sleep has its own benefits, so healthy and beneficial sleep depends on all the phases together.
A peculiarity of the already mentioned REM phase is that, in some way, it makes us connect directly with our emotions and sensations. Due to the particular neurobiological state that is reached at this time of the night (brain activity corresponding to emotions and memory is increased), the reactivation of previously acquired affective experiences. Emotions can be processed in a stress-free and anxiety-free state. To this end, studies have shown that after a disturbing event, sleep attenuates the experience of stressful emotions by reducing the activity of the amygdala and increasing the activity of cognitive control regions such as the prefrontal cortex. Emma experts. With this, REM sleep allows us to regain greater control over the emotions and experiences we have had and heal emotional wounds.
Regenerate the body while we sleep
Beyond the fact that the dream helps us to ‘be at peace’ with our emotions, it is also an essential process that affects all areas of our life. David Gozal, an expert in sleep, researcher and professor at the University of Missouri, assured in a conference that “if sleep did not have a vital function, it would be a huge error of evolution. If we don’t treat it as an essential part, we pay a price. ‘ There are many processes that our body goes through while we sleep. From the Chair of Sleep at the University of Granada-LOMONACO they comment that, on the one hand, at this time of day is when our body produces growth hormone, as well as modifying our heart rate and blood pressure, allowing the blood that the heart carries to the rest of the body to be of ‘better quality’ and richer in protein.
Likewise, the hours of sleep are essential for the rest of our bones and muscles, as well as their regeneration. «When sleeping in a horizontal position, the joints do not need to support the weight of the body, so the muscles relax “, they point out from the Chair. Finally, remember that it is in the hours of rest when our eyesight regenerates and the skin expels toxins.