Can Sleep Calm your Fears? New Technique may Dissipate Terrors

A new study suggests that a little sleep can help lessen the pain of a horrific memory.

In fact, scientists show how during the state of sleep, this relaxed period could potentially help treat disorders related to phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lead study author Katherine Hauner of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine taught 15 volunteers to fear the combination of a face and odor. The participants involved in the study saw a picture of a certain man's face and at the same time, smelled a distinct scent that was similar to lemon. The face-odor combination was then paired with a nasty shock in which volunteers quickly learned to expect something when they saw that face or odor.

The volunteers were then instructed to sleep, upon which the distinct smells were turned on again that had earlier come with a shock. The volunteers sweated less when the smell was activated, which is typically associated with symptoms of fear. When the odor wasn't activated during sleep, however, the volunteers' responses to the associated face were unchanged.

Participants also underwent scans that showed brain activity was a part of the relearning. For instance, odor exposure while sleeping often caused neural changes in the hippocampus, a memory center of the brain, and the amygdala, an area that's often linked to emotions.

"While this particular odorant was being presented during sleep, it was reactivating the memory of that face over and over again which is similar to the process of fear extinction during exposure therapy," Hauner said, via a press release. 

Many believe this learning process is similar to various types of therapy in which people can confront various fears to override terrifying memories that may be preventing them from living their lives.

With further studies, Hauner writes that she and colleagues hope the technique might help patients weaken these fears through the power of sleep.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Nature Neuroscience.