A study in the July issue of the journal SLEEP shows that one night of total sleep deprivation reduces emotional effect and intrusive memories following experimental trauma (i.e., exposure to a film with traumatic content). According to the authors, the findings provide evidence that initial sleep may actually worsen outcomes to psychologically traumatic stimuli.
Read the study in the journal SLEEP: Psychological Effect of an Analogue Traumatic Event Reduced by Sleep Deprivation