Sleep helps to calm down, forget unpleasant emotions. It is a known fact, there are even very convincing explanation of why this is happening. Psychiatrists and psychologists use sleep in the fight against obsessive fears. However, relations, sleep, memory and emotions are still more questions than answers.

Correct smell in the bedroom will help you to get rid of unpleasant memories. (Photo Stefano Oppo.)

A new mystery tossed researchers from northwestern University (USA). They made the following experiment: a group of people showed some photos accompanied by some neutral smells - like smell of mint. One of the photos have also been made a painful shock. After some time the volunteers experienced stress already in the simple appearance of a bad photo. After that, some of them went to bed, and the room where they slept, filled with the same smell, which was accompanied by a picture with electric current. Other participants of the experiment was awake.

If the waking respondents were given to smell that went along with the "painful" photograph, then, as expected, it caused the stress, and the stronger was the smell, the sharper they reacted to the picture. The sleeping same situation was completely different: the stronger was the smell during sleep, so quiet they treated unpleasant photo after waking up. Brain scans showed that the areas responsible for the fear and memory, after the scent processing in sleep much less responsive to the incentives associated with unpleasant sensations.

In other words, if you gave the girl rose, and she said that you should not meet, try for the night to put in my room rose bouquet, and your longing will be over. But seriously, this trick can really be very effective in the treatment of phobias and post-traumatic syndrome. However, the researchers find it difficult to explain the nature of this effect. Perhaps the fact that the scent evokes the image that caused discomfort, and brain somehow these feelings processes. Researchers want to find out what phase is valid smell - during fast or slow wave sleep.

The results of experiments, scientists reported at the annual conference Neurobiological society in New Orleans (USA).

Prepared according to NewScientist.