Overnight Therapy: How Sleep Processes Emotions and Heals Trauma
Does Sleep Act as “Overnight Therapy” for Emotional Experiences?
Yes, and the process is both sophisticated and essential for mental health. Research reveals that sleep, particularly REM sleep, acts as a form of overnight therapy by processing emotional experiences and reducing their intensity. During REM sleep, the brain reactivates emotional memories while stress hormones like noradrenaline are suppressed, allowing the emotional charge to be separated from the memory content. This process helps transform distressing experiences into more manageable memories, essentially providing therapeutic healing while we sleep.