Maria Popova with BrainPickings.com reviews the work of sleep-researcher Rosalind D. Cartwright who has made significant findings regarding the interplay of sleeps and dreams. One particular facet of Cartwright’s research focuses on how dreams can serve to regulate negative emotions. Cartwright has found that REM cycles begin much earlier during sleep for people who are clinically depressed and these REM cycles often last an unusually long time. This sleep pattern disrupts the flow of growth hormones that allow the body to physically heal. Cartwright’s research also shows that the brain of clinically depressed patients disallows them from easily recalling dreams, as well.Read the entire article here: The Science of Sleep: Dreaming, Depression, and How REM Sleep Regulates Negative Emotion.