Going to bed angry: don’t do it!
New research shows why going to bed stressed, unsettled or angry is bad for your mental health
By 
Psychologies
‘Never go to bed angry’ is age-old advice, and new research shows why.
Studies found that, if you’re feeling stressed or unsettled, it is harder to suppress these feelings in the long term if you sleep on them. During sleep, the brain reorganises the way negative memories are stored, making them difficult to overcome. If you’ve had a busy day, try to plan in time to reflect before heading to bed.
The researchers hope this could ultimately change the way post-traumatic stress disorder is managed.
“Although emotional memories are enduring, they can, to some extent, be consciously controlled through voluntary suppression in healthy individuals. A failure to suppress unwanted memories has been linked to symptoms in a number of psychiatric disorders including the ruminative state found in depression and intrusive memories in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”
Photograph: iStock
