Study Suggests Tired Gamblers at Higher Risk

Many gamblers have pulled all-night runs at the craps or blackjack tables, and marathon poker sessions have become tales of legend. But new research suggests that if gamblers want to make the most of their time in the casino, they might be better served by getting a good night’s sleep.

According to a recent study by Duke University, adults who are sleep deprived fail to properly gauge the potential risks of financial decisions. In the study, 29 adult volunteers were asked to perform “economic decision-making tasks” one morning after a full night’s sleep, and again on another morning after being sleep deprived.

The results, measured using MRI scans, confirmed that the sleep deprived adults’ brains were not operating in the same manner as those of their well-rested counterparts. While those who hadn’t slept had increased brain activity in areas that assess positive outcomes, their brains were not as active in areas that normally took into account negative outcomes or consequences.

"Late-night gamblers are fighting more than just the unfavorable odds of gambling machines; they are fighting a sleep-deprived brain's tendency to implicitly seek gains while discounting the impact of potential losses," said Vinod Venkatraman, the lead author of the study. "Countermeasures that combat fatigue and improve alertness may be inadequate for overcoming these decision biases."

For most gamblers, the fact that they perform best when well rested won’t come as a surprise. However, the way in which sleep depravation affected the gambler’s decision making process was not an area that had seen much study in the past.

Inside of casinos, players have long noted that it is nearly impossible to find clocks, which not only makes it more difficult for players to realize just how long they’ve been playing, but may also keep people at the tables beyond the point at which they are capable of sound decision making. This new evidence also suggests that as players get more fatigued, they may actually find gambling less dangerous as they get later into the night.