SOME PEOPLE MADE FUN OF ARIANNA HUFFINGTON’S SLEEP-QUALITY CRUSADE, BUT I WASN’T ONE OF THEM: Poor sleep triggers viral loneliness and social rejection.

Poor sleep can literally kill your social life. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that sleep-deprived people feel lonelier and less inclined to engage with others, avoiding close contact in much the same way as people with social anxiety.

Worse still, that alienating vibe makes sleep-deprived individuals more socially unattractive to others. Moreover, well-rested people feel lonely after just a brief encounter with a sleep-deprived person, potentially triggering a viral contagion of social isolation.

The findings, which will be published August 14 in the journal Nature Communications, are the first to show a two-way relationship between sleep loss and becoming socially isolated, shedding new light on a global loneliness epidemic.

I blame smartphones and social media. We should probably regulate them like tobacco.