Chronic sleep deprivation is causing millions of Brits to argue.
A study of 2,000 UK adults found nearly half are more likely to become argumentative after a bad night’s sleep.
The research found the average Brit will get just six and a half hours sleep a night – a fifth less than the recommended eight hours.
And 44 per cent of those polled are getting six hours or less a night, with one in 20 getting as little as four hours each evening.
But a poor night’s sleep doesn’t only result in a short temper, as 42 per cent admit they are less productive while a quarter (24 per cent) said their decision making is worsened.
A fifth are less likely to care about how they look the morning after a restless night, and 31 per cent said they’re more likely to suffer from headaches or feel under the weather.
Scientific evidence has shown the detrimental effects of just one bad night’s sleep on both our health and mental wellbeing.
As a result, sleep technology firm, Simba, which commissioned the research, created a good-humoured yet thought-provoking video which imagines what it might be like if our world leaders had a better night’s sleep.
In the first ever ‘Deepfake for Peace’ video, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, Donald Trump, Nicola Sturgeon, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel share Mimosas in bed together after a well-rounded eight hours of slumber.
The footage was created 50 years after John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s iconic ‘Bed-in for Peace’, showing how Deepfakes can be used positively and peacefully – not just divisively, whilst raising awareness of the importance of better sleep.
Taking 240 hours to create, master of Deepfake and VFX technology, Dr. Fakenstein, partnered with Simba to show world leaders as you’ve never seen them before as part of their Made for Peace campaign.
Deepfake videos combine and superimpose existing images and videos to create digital dopplegängers using a cutting-edge machine learning technique known as generative adversarial network.
Steve Reid, CEO of Simba, said:
“The potential of Deepfakes have rightly become a growing concern, with the power to be divisive and cause chaos. “But we wanted to explore if we could take this technology and use it in a peaceful and positive way. “The purpose of the video is not to undermine the severity of what’s going on in the world today, but rather make us pause and think. “The demands of being a political leader can really take their toll on sleep, with many getting by on just a few hours. “In a time when tensions have never been higher, critical decisions are often made by those who are severely sleep deprived. “Just one night of bad sleep can make the part of your brain that processes threats go into overdrive, making people lose their temper or react more aggressively. “While a very small percentage of people can function with four or five hours of sleep a night, most of us require much more.”
The Deepfake for Peace video starts with a seemingly enraged Boris Johnson.
Rather than being at loggerheads though, the film reveals a playful exchange between the Prime Minister and the French President – complete with laughter-filled pillow fight.
The study also found a quarter are more likely to spend time by themselves after a bad night’s sleep and one in seven even admitted to being more likely to ‘cave’ under pressure.
A further 17 per cent said they’re more confrontational when not getting their full eight hours of rest, but it’s not just a bad night’s sleep which is likely to make Brits argue.
It also emerged one in four are more inclined to snap when feeling hungry, with over a third more likely to blow a fuse when already in a bad mood.
And 28 per cent are more likely to have a quarrel with someone when tired from being overworked.
External factors such as building works or traffic outside the window can also ignite more arguments the following day.
Simba CEO, Steve Reid, added:
“We wanted to show how technology can be used to bring people together instead of driving them apart. “If we interpret what’s happening on the world stage and apply it on a personal level, how each and every one of us sleeps is just as important to the smooth running of society. “Better sleep gives our brains the right conditions for rational decision making and calmer emotional reactions. “It is scientifically proven that the more rested we are, the more we’re likely to be a bit kinder and empathetic.”
Top 20 things most likely to make us argue:
1. Having a bad night’s sleep
2. Generally being in a bad mood
3. Not being listened to
4. Being tired from work
5. Being nagged to do something
6. Being in chronic pain
7. Being hungry
8. Having a headache
9. Being kept up at night by external factors such as building works, passers-by etc.
10. Technology breaking or not working
11. Getting stuck in traffic
12. Bad drivers on the road
13. Being late/someone else being late
14. Being kept up at night by a partner
15. Receiving bad news
16. Being an uncomfortable temperature
17. Delays on public transport
18. Forgetting to do something
19. Speaking to/seeing someone I don’t like
20. Having a full workload at work
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