TRY THIS PUZZLE

ONE thing that does seem to respond positively to sleep deprivation is our ability to think laterally. Researchers at Albion College, Michigan, in the U.S. asked students to solve puzzles such as this one:

‘TWO girls are born on the same day, month and year to the same parents, but they aren’t twins . . . how?’

Those answering when tired were actually more likely to come up with the solution, possibly because their fatigued brains were more likely to make unusual connections.

(If you’ve had a good night’s sleep and can’t work out the answer to that puzzle, it’s because they are two of a set of triplets.)