Science says: you should really never go to bed angry

Do you know what I really find to be one of the most useless emotions? Anger. I don't like the feeling, I don't find it necessary, and I certainly don't find it pleasant to go to sleep angry. And science agrees with me. At least, with the last part. According to a study published in Nature Communications, negative emotional memories are harder to change after a night of sleep, making it more difficult to let go of those memories.

Here's how it works: during sleep, the brain is busy processing how these memories are stored, making them harder to suppress. The study, conducted with 73 male students, showed that suppressing memories was easier when they were adjusted immediately after receiving new information than after a good night's sleep. Brain scans revealed that sleep spread the memories across the cerebral cortex, making it harder to forget them.

Going to sleep angry affects your memories in such a way that they get a permanent place in your brain. This automatically means that when you talk through your conflicts before going to sleep, your brain stores that moment as something good. So, if you find yourself turning your back on your partner in irritation when going to sleep, turn around and make sure you go to sleep without a fight. Better for yourself, better for your brain, and better for your frown lines.

Source: The Guardian