History Main / ExhaustionInducedIdiocy

Compare AlcoholInducedIdiocy, BlindedByRage, FuryFueledFoolishness, HeroicRROD, and WorfHadTheFlu. May result in TooDesperateToBePicky when someone is so hungry that they'll eat something they probably shouldn't or FellAsleepDriving if the person is operating a vehicle, often leading to tragedy. Contrast with HeroicBSOD and AngstComa, which result from ''emotional'' exhaustion instead.

* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'': Blanche once stayed up all night writing a story, leading to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyX4iUrGZGw this]].

* * ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'': Unlike in [[Literature/SwordArtOnline canon]], [[BigBad Kayaba]]'s plan was ultimately boiled down to how sleep-deprived he was after working three weeks without so much as a wink of sleep[[note]]which would be long enough to ''kill'' someone[[/note]] to finish ''Sword Art Online''. The game was ChristmasRushed and he needed to get it done after already being delayed twice. Thus, he busted his ass to get it ready for release. Unfortunately, this resulted in causing a glitch that killed the players when their avatars died, and [[SanitySlippage Kayaba's mind was still in shambles]] when he was trying to think of a way to fix it after people started dying from it.

* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'': Unlike in [[Literature/SwordArtOnline canon]], [[BigBad Kayaba]]'s plan was ultimately boiled down to how sleep-deprived he was after working three weeks without so much as a wink of sleep[[note]]which would be long enough to ''kill'' someone[[/note]] to finish ''Sword Art Online''. The game was ChristmasRushed and he needed to get it done after already being delayed twice. Thus, he busted his ass to get it ready for release. Unfortunately, this resulted in causing a glitch that killed the players when their avatars died, and [[SanitySlippage Kayaba's mind was still in shambles]] when he was trying to think of a way to fix it after people started dying from it.
-->'''Kayaba:''' Next thing you know your [[VideoGameTutorial Tutorial NPC]] is nowhere to be found, and Players are dropping like Dorito-encrusted flies. Now, in this case, any '''sane''' man would simply turn off the servers before anyone else got hurt, but because you've now been awake long enough to think the government is run by "Flubar, King of the MoleMen," the best idea that comes to your mind is to double, triple, and quadruple down. So you lock everyone in the game, tell them they'll die if they don't finish it, [[IMeantToDoThat and try to make it look like this is all part of your "master plan" instead of an ever-spiraling series of events that you have long since lost control of]].

* ''FanFic/AvatarLegendOfTheGuardian'': All of Team Avatar suffers it during "The Chase." [[spoiler:When they discover Min's true identity as Xia, Zuko's twin sister, they violently reject her and depart. Once they manage to get some sleep and have some time to think things over, with help from Toph, it's clear they would have been more willing to hear her out and listen to what she had to say had Azula not been chasing them and running them ragged for two days solid.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/JackJackAttack'': During the latter half of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', Kari has to babysit Jack-Jack. However, this is when he develops [[GooGooGodLike his powers]]. By the next day, [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter she is completely exhausted and sleep-deprived]]. When [[BigBad Syndrome]] comes along to take Jack-Jack, she believes he's the replacement babysitter and believes his [[BlatantLies lie]] that [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS the "S" on his suit]] means "sitter." She hands him off without question simply because she's tired and desperate to get away from the baby. When Agent Dicker [[LampshadeHanging quips about how stupid that was]], she angrily retorts with the understandable justification that she had to sit for an "exploding baby," which was a thoroughly draining experience.

* ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}:'' Restless TripleShifter Bill Raibert hasn't been ''too'' affected by this despite the sheer sleep deprivation he goes through, but he knows the risks and is in a hurry to try and solve things before he can fall into a dumb mistake that a two-hour nap could've avoided. And even then he sometimes [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2400/fc02349.htm catches himself on the verge of it]].
-->'''Bill:''' No answer from Clippy or the plane. Unplanned visit. Hmm. The compound does have defenses and a missile battery... This is why I hate working when exhausted. I have a hammer. I have a problem that can be solved with a hammer. At some point I'm going to be too tired to think of a solution that doesn't involve a hammer.

* Max Damage from ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' and its sister series ''Incorruptible'' becomes [[SuperStrength stronger]] and [[NighInvulnerable tougher]] the longer he stays awake ([[BroughtDownToNormal resetting to human-normal]] when he sleeps). Since sleep deprivation and stimulant drugs affect him the same way they affect anyone else, his [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity judgment and mental acuity are at their lowest]] when his [[BlessedWithSuck powers are at their highest]].

* Max Damage from ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' and its sister series ''Incorruptible'' gets this way after spending a long time sleep-deprived. [[BlessedWithSuck The worst part about it is that he needs to stay awake a really long time to become stronger.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In "Goliad", Princess Bubblegum has been up for 83 hours straight working on the creation of Goliad, a nigh-immortal candy sphinx with incredible intelligence and psychic powers who will serve as a back-up ruler in case anything happens to the Princess. Thus, she rather unwisely trusts [[IdiotHero Finn and Jake]] to teach Goliad to be a good leader while she goes and takes a nap. Finn and Jake proceed to accidentally teach Goliad that MightMakesRight and turn her into a tyrant.

-->'''Kayaba:''' Now, in this case, any '''sane''' man would simply turn off the servers before anyone else got hurt, but because you've now been awake long enough to think the government is run by "Flubar, King of the MoleMen," the best idea that comes to your mind is to double, triple, and quadruple down. So you lock everyone in the game, tell them they'll die if they don't finish it, [[IMeantToDoThat and try to make it look like this is all part of your "master plan" instead of an ever-spiraling series of events that you have long since lost control of]].

* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'': Unlike in [[LightNovel/SwordArtOnline canon]], [[BigBad Kayaba]]'s plan was ultimately boiled down to how sleep-deprived he was after working three weeks without so much as a wink of sleep[[note]]which would be long enough to ''kill'' someone[[/note]] to finish ''Sword Art Online''. The game was ChristmasRushed and he needed to get it done after already being delayed twice. Thus, he busted his ass to get it ready for release. Unfortunately, this resulted in causing a glitch that killed the players when their avatars died, and [[SanitySlippage Kayaba's mind was still in shambles]] when he was trying to think of a way to fix it after people started dying from it.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS4E1FearOfAKrabbyPattyShellOfAMan Fear of a Krabby Patty]]", Mr. Krabs starts keeping the Krusty Krab open 24 hours a day to compete with the Chum Bucket's new open-23-hours-a-day policy. After 15 or so days working with no sleep, [=SpongeBob=] starts to hallucinate everyone as giant Krabby Patties.

* Similarly, rail disasters have been caused by lack of rest.
** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinton_train_collision Hinton rail disaster]] was believed to have been caused by the driver of a freight train either falling asleep or having a heart attack while at the controls, causing it to crash into a passenger train, not helped by the railroad's lax monitoring of crew health.
** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selby_rail_crash Selby rail disaster]] of 2001 was an unusual one in that it was not fatigue on the part of any of the drivers of either of the two trains involved, but on the part of a motorist who fell asleep at the wheel and drove his car onto the tracks, where it was run over by one train, causing it to derail and get hit by the second.

* Similarly, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinton_train_collision Hinton rail disaster]] was believed to have been caused by the driver of a freight train either falling asleep or having a heart attack while at the controls, causing it to crash into a passenger train, not helped by the railroad's lax monitoring of crew health.

* Fatigue was also cited as a contibuting factor in the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill Exxon Valdez]]'' oil spill, as the crew had been working long hours with little rest.

* Fatigue was also cited as a contibuting factor in the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill Exxon Valdez]]'' oil spill, as the crew had been working long hours with little rest..

** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In the episode "Waking Moments", everyone has nightmares. In Neelix's case, his nightmare kept him awake for the rest of the night, so he serves Tom Paris a cup of cooking oil.

* ''WesternAnimation/JackJackAttack'': During the latter half of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Kari has to babysit Jack-Jack. However, this is when he develops [[GooGooGodLike his powers]]. By the next day, [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter she is completely exhausted and sleep-deprived]]. When [[BigBad Syndrome]] comes along to take Jack-Jack, she believes he's the replacement babysitter and believes his [[BlatantLies lie]] that [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS the "S" on his suit]] means "sitter." She hands him off without question simply because she's tired and desperate to get away from the baby. When Agent Dicker [[LampshadeHanging quips about how stupid that was]], she angrily retorts with the understandable justification that she had to sit for an "exploding baby," which was a thoroughly draining experience.

* ''WesternAnimation/JackJackAttack'': During the latter half of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Kari has to babysit Jack-Jack. However, this is when he develops [[GooGooGodLike his powers]]. By the next day, [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter she is completely exhausted and sleep-deprived]]. When [[BigBad Syndrome]] comes along to take Jack-Jack, she believes he's the replacement babysitter and believes his [[BlatantLies lie]] that the "S" on his suit means "sitter." She hands him off without question simply because she's tired and desperate to get away from the baby. When Agent Dicker [[LampshadeHanging quips about how stupid that was]], she angrily retorts with the understandable justification that she had to sit an "exploding baby," which was a thoroughly draining experience.

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Early in the story, the heroes stumble into a novelty statue shop the reader will immediately peg as Medusa's lair. Percy explains that yes, it was dumb, but they were exhausted and had been staggering through the woods of New Jersey for a long time.

* ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}:'' Restless TripleShifter Bill Raibert hasn't been ''too'' affected by this despite the sheer sleep deprivation he goes through, but he knows the risks and is in a hurry to try and solve things before he can fall into a dumb mistake that a two-hour nap could've avoided. And even then he sometimes [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2400/fc02349.htm catches himself on the verge of it]].
-->'''Bill:''' No answer from Clippy or the plane. Unplanned visit. Hmm. The compound does have defenses and a missile battery... This is why I hate working when exhausted. I have a hammer. I have a problem that can be solved with a hammer. At some point I'm going to be too tired to think of a solution that doesn't involve a hammer.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'': In "The Sleepover", Muffin is seen acting like a drunk after she skipped a sleep earlier that day.