Reference:

Harrington, Marcus; Ashton, Jennifer; Sankarasubramanian, Subbulakshmi; Anderson, Michael; & Cairney, Scott (2019).

When reminders elicit unwanted memories, they can impact our moods and emotions, thus our relationships. This is problematic with those especially who have anxiety, depression, or PTSD.

Psychology researchers studied whether sleep deprivation makes it harder to control these intrusive, unpleasant memories. 60 participants studied pictures of faces with neutral and negative emotions long enough for images to pop into their mind automatically.  Then they had to actively push them out of their minds. They also rated how happy each face picture looked. Half the participants slept that night while half stayed awake. Both groups retaking the images tests reported how many times the pictures popped into their minds and how well they were able to suppress uncomfortable emotions related to them. Electrodes measured their brain responses 

Results? Sleep-deprived participants had 50% more intrusive memories about the pictures and struggled more to suppress them than those who had slept fully. Sleep deprivation impacted brain areas associated with memory, attention, and emotional regulation. 

Get a good sleep! Limit caffeine, alcohol, and blue light exposure two hours before bed. To control intrusive memories and emotions, think of a positive accomplishment or goal!