The study conducted by researchers at Michigan State University and the University of California, Irvine, found that participants who did not get proper sleep at night were more likely to miss and commit mistakes while noting the details of a simulated burglary they were shown in a series of images.
Researchers said that such distortions in memory can prove very dangerous in areas such as criminal justice. "We found memory distortion is greater after sleep deprivation," said Kimberly Fenn, MSU associate professor of psychology and co-investigator on the study.
"And people are getting less sleep each night than they ever have," he added.
Lack of sleep has been termed an epidemic by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC says that this problem has often led to vehicle crashes, industrial disasters and chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
Researchers conducted experiments to find out the effect of insufficient sleep on memory.
Study participants who were not allowed to sleep for 24 hours and those who were given five or fewer hours of sleep botched up event details more frequently than those were well rested.
"People who repeatedly get low amounts of sleep every night could be more prone in the long run to develop these forms of memory distortion. It's not just a full night of sleep deprivation that puts them at risk," Fenn said.
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.
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