A recent study conducted by the University of Zurich revealed if we sleep in the first 24 hours after a traumatic experience, we can affectively process and integrate the distressing traumatic memories more effectively. Ongoing good Sleep can also assist to reduce trauma from past events.
Sleep, therefore, is regarded as an early prevention strategy for post-traumatic stress disorders.
Does sleep help process the stress and trauma related to the prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
The study found that is people affected by an event could sleep soon after; their mind had the opportunity to process the event of the emotional and distressing memories. They found sleep could play a key role in processing what they had suffered or experienced.
“Our results reveal that people who slept after the film had fewer and less distressing recurring emotional memories than those who were awake,” explains the first author Birgit Kleim from the Department of Experimental Psychopathology and Psychotherapy at the University of Zurich. “This supports the assumption that sleep may have a protective effect in the aftermath of traumatic experiences.” The study also revealed that sleep soon after a traumatic event weakened the emotions connected to the event and memory.
While these studies are still ongoing, it does point to the advantage of sleep to assist in reducing trauma affects. Sleep is essential for all humans to process their days’ events. The study recommends at least a few days of good restful sleep to enable the brain to process efficiently. It seems however that the sleep recently after the event, within a day or two, is required to significantly reduce the stress and trauma. Ongoing studies are being conducted regarding the advantageous of sleep to assist the processing long term.
Many people who have experienced a trauma indicate their sleep patterns are interrupted; they have difficulty falling or remaining asleep. This may result in the multifarious effects of the trauma.
The study exposed that people who were able to achieve good sleep had fewer distressing emotional memories, memories faded faster and fear was reduced. Sleep offers a non-invasive alternate approach to erase and ease traumatic memories instead of treatment using medications which seem to have disappointing results.
Any individual who has experienced any trauma or traumatic event it seems would benefit from achieving good, restful sleep to assist the brain to process the memories and the mind to store them away from the conscious memory.
Please use the VirtualHypnotherapy.com Sleep session, Sleep Through The Night – Stop Insomnia, to achieve good restful sleep each evening. Allow the mind to process the memories to aid recovery, allowing you to move forward; and become free from this trauma.
Use the Sleep session regularly to ensure continued good, restful sleep and required processing time.
