Previous research has already warned that lack of sleep can cause memory loss. Now, new work suggests that lack of sleep may also increase the chance of having false memories .
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California-Irvine and Michigan State University (USA) was based on an experiment with 104 college-age people who were divided into four groups. The first and second groups looked at photographs of a crime scene just before partying and with no rest that night for the second part of the experiment. The two remaining groups also observed the photos of the crime, but with the exception of doing so rested, having slept peacefully before moving on to the second phase of the experiment.
The scientists found that university students who had stayed up late and therefore had not slept all night, were more likely to respond with false data to questions about the photos they had observed the day before . This happened in each and every part of the experiment. The groups that had slept well had no problem accurately remembering the details in the photographs.
According to the researchers, lack of sleep therefore affects memory and our memories, since those who are deprived of sleep are more likely to remember false details than those who have had adequate sleep. The study, which has been published in the journal Psychological Science , states that five hours of sleep or less are indicative of false memory formation .
“Recent studies suggest that people are getting fewer and fewer hours of sleep on average, and chronic sleep deprivation is on the rise . Our results have implications for the reliability of controls who have experienced long periods of restricted or deprived sleep, ”says study co-author Steven J. Frenda.
