“Why does witnessing a traumatic event disturb our sleep even when we are not in imminent danger?”

In his new article featured in Psychology Today, Elsevier Author and world-renowned expert in sleep medicine, Meir Kryger, MD, analyzes the brain’s response to trauma to answer this question.

Following the Boston bombings, many Americans were filled with terror. This feeling of disorientation and danger – along with the images played and replayed by the media – effects your sleep patterns, even if you live thousands of miles away from Boston.

When psychological trauma is experienced, a surge of adrenalin goes through your body – the fight-or-flight response – which creates a detailed memory. This memory is then “tagged” as unresolved and causes disruptions to our sleep. Have you ever experienced sleepless nights caused by stress from an impending deadline? Or have you ever recited a lecture over and over in your mind instead of falling asleep? These scenarios are very similar to your brain’s response to trauma.

Dr. Kryger believes that, “for the vast majority, sleep will return to normal within a few days or weeks as we sort out the reasons why it happened and what it means for our daily lives.”

To learn more about Dr. Kryger, author of the leading text, Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, visit Dr. Meir Kryger’s Elsevier Authors bio page. And check out some more of Elsevier’s award-winning sleep medicine authors!