You could’ve graduated 20 years ago and still have nightmares about showing up for that final you forgot to study for. You’d think your brain would give it a rest.

Harvard dream researcher Deirdre Barrett has talked about how these dreams can continue for decades after you’ve left school. Our brains have a habit of hanging on to whatever we’ve been worrying about, even after we’ve gone to bed. “We’re thinking about the same things that we were most focused on by day,” she told the Harvard Gazette .

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A new study suggests that people who worry a lot might also have a harder time escaping unpleasant thoughts while they sleep.…