Catch Up On Sleep Before Gambling, Study Says

A new study conducted by two Duke University medical school neuroscientists has confirmed what many in the online gambling industry already suspected - it is better to play after getting a good night's sleep.

The scientists showed, using functional MRI scans, that a night of sleep deprivation leads to increased brain activity in parts of the brain that process positive outcomes, while simultaneously decreasing activity in the parts of the brain that process negative outcomes.

Sleep-deprived people in the study were found to make choices that placed an emphasis on winning money, and were found to be less likely to make choices that reduced the risk of losing.

"Even if someone makes very sound, risky financial decisions after a normal night of sleep, there is no guarantee that this same person will not expose you to untoward risk if sleep deprived," said the study's co-author Michael Chee, M.D. "I think it's critical that society as a whole grapple with the data generated about the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation and consider whether to continue doing things the old way...Old habits die hard, but maybe some of them should die."

Twenty-nine healthy adults with an average age of 22 years took part in the study, which was undertaken to show how sleep deprivation might affect decision making. The subjects had to perform their decision-making tasks twice, once at 8 A.M. after a regular night's sleep and once at 6 A.M. after suffering from sleep deprivation.

The message for responsible gambling: It is always better to play after a good night's sleep than after a bad one.