Sleep could help erase bad memories, study finds: ‘Therapy for our emotions’

Sleep has been shown to have a long list of physical and mental health benefits, and now a new study suggests it could also help to "erase" bad memories.

That’s according to researchers from the University of Hong Kong, who implemented a procedure called "targeted memory reactivation" (TMR) to reactivate positive memories and weaken painful ones during sleep. 

"Recollecting painful or traumatic experiences can be deeply troubling," the researchers wrote in the findings, which were published in the journal PNAS.