9 Things To Avoid Doing When You're Tired

Don’t: Pick a fight with your partner

When you’re tired, a mild disagreement can quickly escalate. Sleep deprivation makes it harder to control emotions, according to UC Berkeley and Harvard Medical School research published in 2007 in Current Biology. “It’s almost as though, without sleep, the brain … is unable to put emotional experiences in context and produce controlled, appropriate responses,” said study senior author Matthew Walker, director of UC Berkeley’s Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory. Another study co-authored by Walker and published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that it’s harder to accurately read facial expressions when you’re tired, which means you’re more likely to misinterpret your partner’s intentions.