One theory I've heard is that sleep deprivation is used as part of conditioning techniques. Doctors are conditioned to tolerate things most people would not (c

One theory I've heard is that sleep deprivation is used as part of conditioning techniques. Doctors are conditioned to tolerate things most people would not (cutting people open, touching diseased people, dealing with people dying) and sleep deprivation may be one way in which their minds are made malleable. The same with grad students and soldiers. This may be one of the primary methods by which society makes young people behave the way it wants them to; mess with their minds, then tell them what to do, and repeat it long enough until they keep doing it on their own.