Real World does murder sleep

UNIVERSAL REMOTE

Never having watched an episode of any reality show in its entirety (although I suppose there've been times when I was in the same room when one was on), I've never paid much attention to all the drama that occurs on them. Now, apparently, it turns out that the lowlifes who populate the programs aren't all that naturally hypersensitive.

Research shows that sleep deprivation makes people emotionally volatile and temperamental — a fact that hasn't escaped the notice of some reality TV producers. In fact, though it's not always obvious to the audience, many reality shows feature contestants who could use a little more sleep.

Former Project Runway contestant Jay McCarroll says it took him a few days to figure out that producers were depriving them of sleep to heighten the drama.

"They work you till, like, midnight or 1," McCarroll recalls. "Before you know it, it's four days later. And you're like, 'Wait, I've slept a total of 11 hours in the past week!'"

McCarroll says he tried to take naps during filming but the lack of sleep really came across on TV, for him and for other contestants.

"It makes people crazy," he emphasizes. "It puts people on edge. It makes them irritable. Screaming."

Being exposed daily to adolescents who are often sensitive to the point of melodrama, I find this correlative interesting. It certainly won't make me want to view any of these crappy shows since it seems as if the notion of "reality shows" is a misnomer. That is, the programs' participants appear to be controlled to the point where they've become psychological studies.