Member-only story
What Happens When You Sleep Less Than You Should for 1 Month? Here’s the Terrifying Result
I didn’t realize how badly my brain was deteriorating until it was too late.
I didn’t even realize how bad it had gotten until I was blankly staring at an exam sheet, unable to even remember the fundamentals we had just studied all night for.
At that moment, it wasn’t simply one test alerting me, or ringing through the haze around my concealed, shredded performance. I wasn’t sleepy, I was functioning.
Nevertheless, I was statistically sleep deprived, and my mind had calmly given up.
You Might Feel Fine, But Your Brain Is Begging You To Stop
During my master’s program in the U.S., I became proud of being labeled a “night owl.” Pulling all-nighters was almost like a badge of honor.
The first time I was supposed to stay up all night to prepare for an electrical circuits exam, I prepared furiously and struggled. On the morning of the exam, I could barely hold together a coherent sentence, I had never completely blanked out like that before!
No matter how hard I tried to focus on the exam questions, I had no idea whether I was seeing letters, words, or weird…
