Moral dilemma? Sleep on it

Do you have a moral dilemma? Don’t decide in a hurry – instead, sleep on your decision and you’ll have a better answer in the morning. So say researchers from the University of Washington, the University of Oregon and John Hopkins University in America (mindfood.com, January/February 2015).

University researchers maintain that if you have a moral dilemma, a “big decision” then make sure you have a nap first. When people don’t get enough sleep their moral compass decreases and they either find it harder to solve moral dilemmas or their morality declines. The same person can have different moral responses depending on their level of sleep. It’s not just that different people have different responses to moral dilemmas, but the same person can have lapses of morality.

Researchers found a link between sleep and morality. Sleep seems to have an impact on people’s decision-making processes.

People in a laboratory study were randomly assigned a specific amount of sleep, and then woken by the researchers. The control group was assigned to have about seven hours of sleep. The treatment group was assigned to have around 4.5 hours – these were the partially-deprived sleep group. After their period of sleep researchers presented participants with moral dilemma scenarios. Participants were shown ethical violations and asked whether it was a moral issue or not.

Participants who were better rested were more able to identify issues of morality – that is, whether a scenario presented a moral dilemma to them. Sleep-deprived participants scored lower in moral awareness than the control group – they could not identify moral dilemmas.

In a follow-up, new participants were asked to monitor their own sleep. Participants then completed the same measure of moral awareness as the first study.

When individuals were low in sleep, moral awareness declined, and they scored low in moral dilemma problems. When the same individuals had a full night’s sleep – of about seven hours – their morality increased. They scored highly on moral dilemma problems. So often it may not be a simple case of being influenced by other people – it may be just a case of not enough sleep.

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

Independence statue, Phnom Penh

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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