<p>Most people have heard the old saying about going to bed upset: Never do it, the saying goes, or the hard feelings will fester and resentment will build.<br /><br /></p>.<p> Some say it goes back to the Bible. Regardless of its origins, the adage has been scarcely researched. But in a recent study in The Journal of Neuroscience, scientists found there might be a nugget of truth to it: Going to sleep after experiencing negative emotions appears to reinforce them.<br /><br />In the study, scientists recruited 106 men and women and exposed them to images that elicited various emotions. In some cases the emotions were negative — for instance, after seeing an unsettling image of an accident or traumatic scene. In other cases, the images produced positive or neutral emotions.<br /><br />The researchers then looked at what happened when the subjects were shown both new images and the previous ones 12 hours later — either in the morning after a night of sleep, or at the end of a full day of wakefulness. They also measured brain activity during the rapid eye movement, or REM, phase of sleep, when dreams occur.<br /><br />The scientists found that staying awake blunted the emotional response to seeing the upsetting images again. But when the subjects were shown the disturbing images after a night of sleep, their response was just as strong as when they had first seen them — suggesting that sleep “protected” the emotional response.<br /><br />Other studies have found that sleep, perhaps as an evolutionary mechanism, enhances emotional memories. The authors pointed out that after an unsettling experience, many people have trouble sleeping — perhaps the brain’s way of trying to keep the memory or emotions from being stored.<br /><br />The verdict<br />Going to sleep upset or disturbed preserves the emotion, research suggests.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Most people have heard the old saying about going to bed upset: Never do it, the saying goes, or the hard feelings will fester and resentment will build.<br /><br /></p>.<p> Some say it goes back to the Bible. Regardless of its origins, the adage has been scarcely researched. But in a recent study in The Journal of Neuroscience, scientists found there might be a nugget of truth to it: Going to sleep after experiencing negative emotions appears to reinforce them.<br /><br />In the study, scientists recruited 106 men and women and exposed them to images that elicited various emotions. In some cases the emotions were negative — for instance, after seeing an unsettling image of an accident or traumatic scene. In other cases, the images produced positive or neutral emotions.<br /><br />The researchers then looked at what happened when the subjects were shown both new images and the previous ones 12 hours later — either in the morning after a night of sleep, or at the end of a full day of wakefulness. They also measured brain activity during the rapid eye movement, or REM, phase of sleep, when dreams occur.<br /><br />The scientists found that staying awake blunted the emotional response to seeing the upsetting images again. But when the subjects were shown the disturbing images after a night of sleep, their response was just as strong as when they had first seen them — suggesting that sleep “protected” the emotional response.<br /><br />Other studies have found that sleep, perhaps as an evolutionary mechanism, enhances emotional memories. The authors pointed out that after an unsettling experience, many people have trouble sleeping — perhaps the brain’s way of trying to keep the memory or emotions from being stored.<br /><br />The verdict<br />Going to sleep upset or disturbed preserves the emotion, research suggests.<br /><br /></p>
