Why does everything feel worse when I’m tired?
· Source: Yoo, Gujar, Hu, Jolesz & Walker, Current Biology, 2007
After a bad night, a cancelled plan can feel like the end of the world. In 2007, researchers kept a group of young volunteers awake for about thirty-five hours. Another group slept normally at home. Then everyone looked at pictures in a brain scanner, from neutral to really unpleasant. In the sleepless group, the amygdala, which reacts to threats, responded about sixty percent more strongly to the upsetting ones. It was also less connected to the front of the brain, which helps keep reactions in proportion. The neutral pictures? Both groups reacted about the same. So tiredness doesn't make everything worse. It makes the hard parts land harder. Tonight, say what stung and how you slept. If it can wait, decide tomorrow.