People with insomnia find it harder to forget embarrassing memories
Everyone has a few embarrassing skeletons in their closet they would rather forget. Perhaps you had a little too much to drink on a first date, accidentally said something inappropriate during a job interview or were caught in a compromising position by an unaware family member. No matter who you are, what you do or how old you get, there will always be at least one or two embarrassing memories that make you cringe when anyone brings them up again.
Fortunately, for most of us those embarrassing memories don’t usually surface too often, or without stimuli. However, it appears that people who suffer from insomnia get to relive their most embarrassing moments highlights reel, over and over again. Talk about a double whammy.
The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience has just published new research that found people with insomnia have trouble getting rid of emotional stress, regulating their emotions and dealing with embarrassing memories.
According to MRI scans of participants brains captured during the study, when people who slept well thought about an embarrassing moment, they were able to neutralize those memories, while those who didn’t sleep well couldn’t do the same.
The research also found that people who suffer from insomnia feel more shame about an embarrassing moment after a night of restless sleep.
So, if you find yourself ruminating over your most embarrassing moments often, it might be due to the quality of your sleep.
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