Sleep deprivation doesn't just make you more suggestible; it specifically targets and breaks down your most confident beliefs.
April 1, 2026
Original Paper
Sleep Deprivation Disrupts the Gatekeeping Role of Confidence in Belief Updating
PsyArXiv · zskx3_v1
The Takeaway
Usually, the more certain you are about a belief, the harder it is for someone to change your mind. However, after 24 hours without sleep, this 'confidence shield' disappears, making your most deeply held convictions just as easy to sway as your random guesses.
From the abstract
Belief updating in response to social feedback is essential for adaptive decision-making, but may be sensitive to sleep deprivation. Across two preregistered within-subjects studies (N = 36, conducted in 2023, and N = 49, conducted in 2024), we examined how 24 hours of total sleep deprivation affects belief change and confidence updating after agreeing or disagreeing peer feedback. Sleep deprivation consistently increased belief change, regardless of feedback type, and disrupted the stabilizing