There are so many effects caused by insomnia, gain more weight, have more health problems like heart disease, feel sleep when driving and cause an accident, … but the things I am talking is the loss of our judgment which lead us to make a reckless decision.
Most gamblers after wake up all night long for gambling, they always said that they feel very lucky and they can win double or lose everything. Or some people who have an orderly life, though their sleeping time are just 5 – 6 hours, they still have a good life and no health problem.
That makes scientists want to have some research to find the reason.
The scientist in UK had compare the results of 100 students, which half sleep enough 8 hours per day and half of them just get only 6 hours for sleeping.
They have found that people who are getting six hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they’ve adapted to that sleep deprivation -- they’ve gotten used to it. But based on their result of working and the health test, they continue to go downhill. Their thinking also loss the judgments in decisions and shift them to more negative emotions.
Another survey is done by Mr Scott Huettel at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He had prevented 29 adults from sleeping throughout the night, and then he asked them to carry out a series of gambling tasks where they could manipulate their betting options, while scanning their brain using fMRI
(Functional magnetic resonance imaging – MRI scan used to imaging the activation of brain areas by different types of physical sensation (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) or activity of brain.)
Unlike well-rested volunteers, the sleep-deprived changed their behaviour to pursue big wins even though this meant taking greater risks.
At the same time:
- Brain activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (area instrumental in computing value) increased
-
VMF is important in the processing of risk, fear, decision making. Especially when the decision is made under conditions of uncertainly
- Insula is responsible for a range of things such as pain, empathy, and social emotions. When the activity in right anterior insula decrease, it linked to the negative emotions, our spirit will be low, make our decision become venturesome and no more clear-sighted.
Take these things together; we can say that these effects make people seeking gains while ignoring negative consequences. Conversely, this thing was unrelated to the well-rest people.
Conclusion, a single night of sleep deprivation is enough to shift a typical gambling strategy of defending against potential losses to one in which bigger risks are taken in pursuit of greater prizes. So feeling fine after a sleepless night is no guarantee that you can think straight.