A study by scientists from the University of California at Berkeley showed that insomnia has an extremely negative effect on a person’s level of altruism. And due to lack of sleep, he will be much less likely to help others.
Numerous scientific papers have long proved how harmful insomnia is not only for physical, but also for mental health. Over the past 20 years, a close relationship has been established between the quality of sleep and the psyche. In general, not a single serious mental disorder has been identified, the victims of which would not have problems with sleep. And now a new work has been carried out, which shows that sleep deficiency damages social contacts between people, destroying the very fabric of human society.
The study of the brain of healthy volunteers using functional MRI after a normal sleep duration or a sleepless night demonstrated that some areas of the brain important for understanding the needs of other people and empathy become less active with insomnia. In another experiment, the propensity of people to help others was evaluated, depending on the amount of sleep they received. And here it was shown that people who did not get enough sleep were less likely to go to such simple acts of politeness as helping a wounded stranger on the street, and even holding the elevator door in front of a woman who carries bags.
An analysis of the number of charitable gifts made in various areas of the United States, where daylight saving time was and was not implemented, also showed that the loss of just one hour of sleep reduces the level of generosity.
