It’s pretty easy to tell when someone didn’t get enough sleep and you may have even felt the warning signs yourself. Simple things might feel annoying, or more difficult and you might not feel like dealing with anything or anyone. Have you ever asked yourself why we feel so irritable when our bodies and minds are weary? We asked medical researcher Kira Bacal to help us find the answer.

Got a question that’s wearing you down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll crank out the answer.

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