Sleep deprivation has long been known to cause lack of concentration and fatigue. However, a recent study has found that it also alters a person’s perception. According to a study published by Uppsala University, the optimal sleep duration for adults is seven hours. Unfortunately, due to increasing sleep disorders, more and more working adults are unable to achieve this. This negatively affects both cognitive and physical performance, as well as overall health. Additionally, people with sleep deprivation tend to be more unsociable and withdraw into loneliness. The study aimed to find an explanation for why people with insufficient sleep tend to avoid social interactions.
The researchers, led by Lieve van Egmond, analyzed whether and how emotional evaluation of faces and expressions changes due to sleep deprivation. The study involved 45 participants who spent one night with eight hours of sleep and another night without sleep. The researchers then observed the participants’ eye movements using an eye tracker while they viewed portraits of people with different facial expressions. The participants were asked to rate the health, trustworthiness, and attractiveness of the people in the portraits. The data from the eye tracker showed that sleep-deprived individuals interpreted faces differently. They spent less time fixating on the faces, which increased the risk of misinterpreting emotions. This was confirmed by evaluation tests, which showed that portraits were rated more negatively after a sleepless night.
The study suggests that sleep deprivation is associated with negative social impressions. This is supported by neuroscientific studies that show how sleep deprivation affects the amygdala, the brain region responsible for evaluating emotional information. The study explains why people with sleep deprivation tend to have a more negative perception of others, which could lead to less motivation to interact with them. Therefore, it is important to prioritize sleep to maintain good physical and mental health, as well as positive social interactions.
