Why is REM sleep important?
REM sleep is linked to emotional memory, mood and creative problem-solving. Adults typically spend about 20–25% of total sleep time in REM.
Memory and emotion
REM sleep is thought to help integrate emotional experiences with existing memories.
Creativity
In a nap study, REM sleep, more than non-REM sleep or quiet rest, improved creative problem-solving (Cai et al., 2009). The authors suggest REM helps the brain connect ideas that were not linked before.
REM-rich sleep
REM concentrates in the second half of the night. Cutting sleep short (waking early) costs disproportionate REM. Alcohol at moderate or higher doses reduces REM (Ebrahim et al., 2013).
Sources
- Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep (Scribner, 2017). Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
- Cai et al., PNAS, 2009. REM, not incubation, improves creativity by priming associative networks
- Ebrahim et al., Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2013. Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep
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