An Explanation for Bizarre Biglaw Behavior?

Whenever something like this happens, people speculate that perhaps the poor associate was sleep-deprived. Now there’s some scientific research to support such speculation. From the BBC:

Brain scans can show how the brain gets “tired and over-emotional” when someone is deprived of sleep. US researchers kept volunteers awake for 35 hours and found huge increases in brain activity when shown images designed to make them angry or sad….

The researchers found that the parts of the brain linked to emotional reactions – the amygdala – showed bigger reactions (over 60% more) to the cards compared with a normally-rested volunteer.

Researcher Matthew Walker said: “The size of the increase really surprised us.”

“It is almost as though, without sleep, the brain reverts back to a more primitive pattern of activity, becoming unable to put emotional experiences into context and produce controlled, appropriate responses.”

Do you feel you get enough sleep? Take our reader polls, after the jump.


It’s interesting to note the high number of very successful people — e.g., Bill Clinton, Judge Richard Posner, Martha Stewart, Marissa Mayer (Google Queen), Mark Penn (power pollster), and several Biglaw partners we know — who can get by on six hours or less of sleep per night. We wish we were members of that club.

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‘Sleepless grumps’ seen in brain [BBC]
Sleep Survey Shows Seniors Sleeping Better Than Boomers [Senior Journal]

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