Lack of sleep makes people admit to actions they did not commit. ? This conclusion was reached by researchers from the University of Michigan in a study involving 88 volunteers.
Participants came to the laboratory over a period of slightly more than one week. There, they performed various tasks on a computer and took cognitive tests.
On the final night of the experiment, the participants were divided into 2 groups. Half of the participants slept a full 8 hours, while the other group stayed awake as they wished. Before leaving the laboratory, the participants were shown a written record listing everything they had done during the previous week. However, some of the entries were not true.
Participants were asked to confirm and sign the document. The researchers found that 50% of those who had not slept during the night and only 14% of those who had slept enough signed false records about their activities. In addition, the sleep-deprived participants performed worse on intelligence tests.