Illustration of woman sleeping on pillow

It’s no secret that a good night’s rest has many benefits. Now, a team of researchers at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University–Newark has discovered that REM sleep—when the body is most relaxed and most dreams occur—promotes the emotional resilience to withstand fear and distress. Those benefiting from REM sleep, the researchers cited in the Journal of Neuroscience, demonstrate less of a connection between the amygdala, the part of the brain that’s linked to fear responses, and the regions of the brain that encode memories: well-rested subjects may not be hard-wiring fears as strongly.