Have you ever thought, “Why am I so angry when I’m tired?” Whether you feel extra frustrated or overwhelmed the day after bad sleep, science is beginning to unravel how sleep affects mood.
There are five stages of sleep, including REM. Short for “rapid eye movement,” REM may be cycled in and out of several times during a sleep session. Most dreaming happens during REM sleep.
When REM sleep is experienced regularly over time, it allows us to make more intelligent decisions and take smarter actions. Emotional IQ and resilience depends on getting sufficient REM sleep night after night.
Another benefit of REM-rich sleep is enhanced creativity! While NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep aids in transferring newly learned information to the brain’s long-term memory banks, REM sleep accesses those memories to fuel new ideas in and out of sleep. A recent study featured in The Journal of Positive Psychology supports the hypothesis that creative activity is a significant “means of cultivating positive psychological functioning.”
Sleep well, dream well, live well.
20May