It takes 24 hours of sleep deprivation for a healthy person to begin to experience symptoms similar to those of schizophrenia , such as losing contact with reality or suffering from delusions and hallucinations (for example, hearing strange voices).
This is stated in The Journal of Neuroscience by an international team of researchers coordinated by experts in cognitive psychology from King’s College London and the University of Bonn, in Germany.
According to Professor Ulrich Ettinger, from the latter institution, “it was clear to us that spending a night awake caused concentration problems , but we were surprised by its relationship with a wide spectrum of characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia and how pronounced these could be. ”.
The scientists examined the reactions of 24 volunteers who had been asked to stay up all night, playing games, talking, walking or just watching movies.
The next morning, a study of their brain functions showed that they suffered a severe decrease in their ability to pay attention, which, in the words of the trial authors, ends up becoming a torrent of information that causes chaos in the brains.
In addition, the subjects explained that their sensitivity to light and colors had increased, and they presented alterations in the sense of time and smell . Some even stated that they had the impression of being able to read thoughts or indicated that they had noticed ” mental leaps” or distortions of the image of their own body . However, after a good night’s rest, it all disappeared.
According to these scientists, this phenomenon should be investigated in greater detail, especially in people who tend to work at night , since there is no consensus on whether the symptoms of sleep deprivation gradually weaken as the individual acclimatizes to them.
The model they have devised can also be used to develop new drugs for the treatment of mental illnesses.
