We all feel good after a good night sleep. We need at least 6 hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation can cause a lot of physical problems.
Recent research shows that sleep actually reorganizes and restructures our memories.
While we sleep we hold on the most emotional parts of our memories.
Subjects were shown a scene with an emotional object such as a car wreck.
After a full night sleep subjects were more likely to recall the car wreck rather than a palm tree in the background.
During sleep the areas of our brain that govern emotion and memory consolidation are at work.
Researchers hypothesize that this nighttime brain activity may be helps us to develop creative new ideas.
Insomnia
Researchers have found also, that people who got six or fewer hours of sleep, rested 25 percent higher for C reactive protein , a marker of inflammation and heart disease , compared to who got six to nine hours of sleep. The result was significant even when risk factors such smoking, obesity, and blood pressure was taken into account.
Inflammation caused by less or poor quality sleep may increase the risk for heart disease and stroke,
However, more research is needed to determine whether less sleep contributes directly to hearth disease or stroke.
