Frequent or recurring nightmares, if left unchecked, can not only negatively impact sleep but also individuals’ daily lives. The method researchers used could boost the effectiveness of an already-existing therapeutic treatment for sufferers of chronic nightmares, who often have comorbidities such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Researchers at the University of Geneva in Switzerland have adapted targeted memory reactivation (TMR), which has the potential to influence the course of memory formation through the application of cues during sleep, to help people manage their debilitating nightmares, according to a recently peer-reviewed study.
The study builds off of image rehearsal therapy (IRT), a cognitive behavioral technique often employed in the service of reducing the number and intensity of nightmares that weakens nightmares by giving them context through conversation.
Patients are asked to think back on their nightmares and edit them to imagine positive endings to them. The idea behind the practice is to let the mental exercises, which can rewrite dream narratives, bleed into the patients’ dream worlds – resulting in higher-quality sleep unfettered by the stress that normally accompanies nightmares.
However, much of the research suggests that as little as 30% of people who try IRT respond positively to it, and researchers learned that the odds of therapeutic success were increased when IRT was paired with TMR.
“There is a relationship between the types of emotions experienced in dreams and our emotional well-being,” says senior author Lampros Perogamvros, a psychiatrist at the Sleep Laboratory of the Geneva University Hospitals.
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Ecuadorian voters have rejected a proposal to permit the return of US military bases, according to preliminary referendum results.
Ecuadorians went to the ballot box on Sunday to decide whether US forces should again operate from local facilities. The nation had banned foreign bases in 2008 amid concerns over sovereignty.
With three-quarters of ballots counted, about 60% voted ‘no’ to the plan advanced by President Daniel Noboa, a close ally of US President Donald Trump and a supporter of US military operations in the Caribbean and near Venezuela.
The result blocks any US effort to return to the Manta airbase on the Pacific coast, which once served as a platform for Washington’s regional military operations.
The referendum also asked voters whether to end public funding for political parties, reduce the number of lawmakers, and create an elected body to draft a constitution.....more below
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The Jewish state says the incident in southern Lebanon was due to poor weather conditions, with no casualties reported.
UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon have accused Israel of firing on one of their patrols, criticizing the country for its “aggressive behavior.” Israel has acknowledged that the incident occurred, but said it was not intentional and was due to poor weather conditions.
In a statement on Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on personnel from a Merkava tank.
It called the incident “a serious violation” of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon that ended the 2006 war, stressing that it was not the first attack of this kind. “Yet again, we call on the IDF to cease any aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers, who are working to support the return to the stability that both Israel and Lebanon say they seek.”.... more below
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Iran’s largest credit institution has gone into administration amid the government’s continued push to reform the country’s banking and financial system.
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said on Sunday that it had appointed a team of three administrators to restructure the Melal Credit Institution after the lender accumulated a loss of 650 trillion rials ($590 million)
Head of CBI’s regulatory and oversight department Farshad Mohammadpour said the Melal Institution had an asset–liability mismatch of 450 trillion rials and its capital adequacy ratio was minus 41%.
Mohammadpour said that administrators are expected to restructure the Melal Institution in the next six months, mainly by selling off its non-banking assets, properties and affiliated enterprises to pay down its debts.
CBI’s decision about Melal Institution comes three weeks after the lender declared Bank Ayandeh, one of Iran's largest private banks, insolvent and transferred its assets and staff to the state-run Bank ...
