PSYCHOLOGY OF EMOTIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -The amygdala is the part of the brain associated with the survival instinct and the fight-or-flight response. One theory suggests that because the amygdala is more active during sleep than in your waking life, it may be the brain’s way of getting you ready to deal with a threat.

Detailed explanation-2: -Studies show that during REM sleep, activity in certain brain regions-including the limbic system, which is involved in emotional regulation, as well as memory-spikes considerably. With nightmares, though, the dreamer wakes up, disrupting normal emotion processing, according to Levin and Nielsen.

Detailed explanation-3: -Deprivation of especially REM-sleep for instance leads to more excitation in limbic brain structures resulting in enhanced emotional irritability and reactivity. After sleep deprivation, the normal regulation of the limbic system fails, resulting in an increased reactivity towards aversive emotional information.