Study: Lack of sleep makes people less willing to help others

Not getting enough sleep may be making you more selfish, according to new research showing that groggy people are less helpful. Photo: Friso Gentsch/dpa

A lack of sleep makes people less generous and less helpful, according to new research showing that tired people are more unlikely to hold open a lift door or help an injured stranger on the street.

The study, published in the scientific journal PLOS Biology in August, also analysed donation behaviour in the United States after daylight saving time, when overnight rest is typically cut short by one hour for millions around the world.