Reduced sleep increases individuals' reluctance to assist others, study reveals.
Sleepless Nights, a Global Issue, and Its Hidden Impact on Helping Others
You'd be surprised how many folks in the USA fail to log a solid 7 hours of shut-eye each night. And it's not just a matter of feeling groggy—this widespread lack of sleep is linked to a host of bad news for health like obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
But what about our selflessness, you ask? That's an aspect of our lives we can't afford to overlook. A newly published study in the journal PLOS Biology reveals that skimping on sleep can make you less likely to lend a helping hand to others.
"It's high time we junk the notion that sleep is a luxury or a waste of time," says Dr. Eti Ben Simon of the University of California, Berkeley, and co-author of the study. "Now's the moment to embrace the sleep we need, not just for our own sake but for the sake of those around us."
How DoZombies Become Selfish?
Researchers have long suspected that sleep might affect the way we interact with each other. After all, if we're too drained to think or feel, we're likely to retreat into our shells instead of reaching out.
Prior investigations have uncovered links between poor sleep and emotional processing deficits, which could explain why we might be less inclined to help others. And some studies have shown that when we're sleep-deprived, we exhibit diminished activity in brain regions responsible for prosocial behaviors, like empathy and compassion[1].
To probe the relationship between sleep and helping behaviors, the researchers conducted three experiments at the individual, group, and societal levels. In the first experiment, they examined how losing a night of sleep affected the desire to help others within a single person.
To measure changes in helping behavior, the researchers asked participants to complete a questionnaire assessing their willingness to help in everyday situations, such as giving directions or carrying groceries. They repeated the exercise on different days, after either being sleep-deprived or well-rested.
The results were striking: Participants were markedly less interested in helping others after losing a night of sleep, compared to when they were well-rested[1]. This decline in altruism remained significant even when the researchers controlled for factors like attention, motivation, and mood, which are commonly affected by sleep deprivation.
Peering Inside the Brain
Following the questionnaire portion of the study, the researchers used imaging to examine the impact of sleep loss on brain regions involved in prosocial behaviors. They found that sleep deprivation was associated with reduced activity in brain regions important for social cognition and empathy while participants carried out a social task[1].
Crucially, the researchers discovered that the reduction in helping behavior due to sleep loss was linked to the decline in activity in these brain regions involved in social cognition. This suggests that the effects of sleep deprivation on altruism are mediated by these regions.
"This research provides compelling evidence that poor sleep hygiene could have far-reaching implications for society," explains Dr. David Dickinson, a sleep researcher and professor of economics at Appalachian State University, who was not involved in the study. "By weakening our prosocial tendencies, insufficient sleep might undermine the very fabric of our social interactions, with potential consequences for our economy and wellbeing."
The Importance of Quality Over Quantity
While losing a full night's sleep might make you less helpful, sleep deprivation isn't a typical occurrence. So, in the second experiment, the researchers examined whether the natural variation in night-to-night sleep impacted the desire to help others the following day.
They recruited a group of online participants and asked them to maintain sleep diaries for four nights, responding to an online questionnaire after each night to assess their helping behavior. The results showed that a decrease in sleep quality, measured as the fraction of time spent asleep versus time spent in bed, was associated with a lower desire to help others[1].
Interestingly, the willingness to help others wasn't affected by the total hours spent sleeping. This suggests that after attaining a minimum amount of sleep, sleep quality might have a more profound impact on altruistic actions than sleep duration.
The Real-World Impact of Sleep Loss
Finally, the third experiment scrutinized the real-world impact of sleep loss on helping behavior at a national level. Using data on charitable donations made to an online charity between 2001 and 2016, the researchers analyzed whether the potential loss of an hour of sleep during daylight savings time affected donation amounts.
They discovered that donation amounts were lower during the week of the transition to daylight saving time, compared to weeks before and after the transition. There was no such decline in donation amounts in states that do not observe daylight saving time, like Arizona and Hawaii[1].
Embracing the Beauty of Sleep
Although we're only beginning to understand the complex relationship between sleep and prosocial behavior, preliminary research suggests that poor sleep can diminish our capacity for helping others. By advocating for better sleep practices, we can work towards a healthier, kinder society.
Human beings are social creatures, and our interactions with one another shape our lives in countless ways. By studying the impact of sleep on our social lives, we can uncover new strategies to foster empathy, compassion, and cooperation, leaving a brighter, more connected world for future generations.
- The study published in PLOS Biology indicates that skimping on sleep can make individuals less willing to help others.
- Researchers have found that sleep deprivation is associated with decreased activity in brain regions responsible for prosocial behaviors, such as empathy and compassion.
- In the study, participants showed a marked decrease in their willingness to help others after losing a night of sleep, compared to when they were well-rested.
- Reduced sleep quality, rather than total sleep hours, had more profound effects on altruistic actions in the second experiment of the study.
- The study suggests that advocating for better sleep practices could contribute to a healthier, kinder society by fostering empathy, compassion, and cooperation.
