Sleep is important to our health and well-being, but what happens to the body when it has not gotten enough sleep for an extended period? That was the premise of Shattered, a 2004 British reality TV show in which 10 contestants were asked to go seven days without sleep while carrying out other tasks. The program was very controversial and unethical; it presented subjects with serious physical and mental health risks. Some had hallucinations, became paranoid, suffered from mood swings, and generally showed memory loss. One of them now thought he was the Prime Minister of Australia and tried to call for an appointment with the Australian embassy.
It was hosted by popular illusionist and mentalist Derren Brown, who has since come out to say it had been a terrible idea. “It was irresponsible. It was dangerous. It was unethical,” he told The Guardian in a recent interview. “I regret doing it. I regret being involved in it.” He went on to reveal that he had to intervene several times to prevent the contestants from harming themselves or others.
Clare Southern, the winner of that series, stayed awake for 178 hours and took home £97,000. However, she also sustained long-lasting residues of sleep deprivation, which included insomnia, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. She later wish she had never participated in the program. “It was like being in a horror film. You felt your life was ending,” she said.
Undoubtedly, one of the most violently disturbing reality shows ever produced was Shattered. The way it drove people to the brink of madness and exploited their suffering for the sake of entertainment, raised a lot of ethical questions about the role of television in manipulating human behavior and emotions. As Dr. Neil Stanley, the former chairman of the British Sleep Society, puts it, “Sleep deprivation is not a game. It’s a serious health issue that can have lasting consequences.”