A study has detected the unexpected consequences of little sleep

The experts at the University of California say that do not sleep enough hours makes people "more solitary and less inclined to social interactions. "In addition, it makes them"less socially attractive " for the others.

The survey found that as people suffering from "social anxiety", who deprive themselves of enough sleep, tend to avoid close contact with others." Humans are a social species. However, lack of sleep can turn us into social lepers, "said Matthew Walker, professor of psychology and neuroscience from UC Berkeley.

In research published in Nature Communications, it was discovered that not only people who do not sleep enough have less interest in socializebut also convey this negative feeling to others.

"The less you sleep the less you want to interact socially"And this will make sure that others will perceive it as less socially attractive, which will increase the" severe impact of social isolation caused by sleep loss, "Walker said. . vicious circle This can be an important factor contributing to the public health crisis that is loneliness, "said the expert, director of research.

This was the experimentation

For the study, the researchers recorded the social and neuronal responses of 18 young adults after a normal night's sleep compared to those of a night with little sleep.

Participants in the experiment watched videos of people with neutral expressions walking towards them and asked to stop the images when they thought they were too close. Sleep deprived subjects were 18% to 60% more distant than participants who slept between 7 and 9 hours.

The researchers also badyzed participants' brain reactions and found that those who had less rest had "greater activity of the neural circuit known as"Network close to the space& # 39; which is activated when the brain perceives possible human threats. "In addition," another brain circuit that stimulates social interactions, the "Network of Theory of Mind" was blocked by lack of sleep hours worsening the problem, "showed the report.

The videos of the experiments were commented on the Internet by more than a thousand users who, without knowing the difference in sleep hours of the participants, commented on their reactions. The vast majority of observers have agreed to qualify as "solitary"and"antisocial"For people with less rest the night before.

The researchers found a favorable change in the sociability of adults when they had slept enough, while the problem was aggravated by the repetition of a few hours of sleep. "So maybe that's not a coincidence if we've seen in recent decades a marked increase in loneliness and an equally dramatic reduction in sleep hours, "concluded Eti Ben Simon, head of the team that wrote the report.

Ben Simon is a member of the PhD group of Walker Center for the Science of the Human Dream at UC Berkeley.