In the Time Magazine article "Behavior: Sleep for the Memory" the author suggests that sleep is essential for humans to create memories. According to research, REM sleep is vital not only for memory creation, but also for coping with daily stress. Researchers found that people who watched very distressing movies during the day had an increase in REM sleep at night, indicating that sleep served as a coping response. Scientists believe that REM sleep helps people consolidate their thoughts and make sense of traumatic experiences that their awakened mind cannot, because it allows the person to create some sense of resolution.

I chose this article because the concept of memory really interests me. I often have trouble remembering important things like people's names and special dates, and this study helped me to see the importance of sleep (something I don't get a lot of lately!) Our textbook discusses sleep in Chapter 4, pages 131-135. On page 140, the activation-synthesis hypothesis suggests this same type of REM dream mode: the consolidation of thoughts while dreaming.