Better sleep works like a dream at reducing fear learning

New research from Rutgers University (NJ, USA) has demonstrated that sleep quality is associated with fear learning in young adults, and could be used as a predictor of susceptibility to PTSD. Problems with sleep and PTSD are known to be common bedfellows, with REM sleep in particular associated with neural activity following fear conditioning. While research has been conducted to understand how sleep quality affects established fear memories, studies investigating the effect of sleep patterns on fear memories prior to trauma are few and far between. “These [previous] studies have been restricted to analyzing the effects of a single night...