Nightclub patrons are often sullen and quarrelsome. Overtime workers frequently have peevish dispositions. Can this bad temper be traced to lack of sleep?
In the Journal of Comparative Psychology, Drs. J. C. R. Licklider and M. E. Bunch describe a revealing experiment on rats (which are very like people in many ways). The problem was to find out how rats react to losing sleep. Rats ordinarily sleep 12 to 15 hours a day. When really sleepy, they will bed down on anything. Bright lights and loud noises do not stop them from trying.
The experimenters had to invent a fiendishly ingenious gadget...
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