It truly is quite horrible to be deprived of sleep. I've gotten that way a few times, mostly when I'm stressed. It's annoying when you sleep too much, thinking that another hour might help, and you wake up more tired than when you went to sleep. xD But I really think that is a good idea. Just get back to your normal activities when you feel like you're getting better.
I vaguely remember reading or watching something that stated that knights couldn't use crossbows back during that time because the pope considered them to be evil. Don't know how historically accurate that is, but yeah. I concur though, the tests are fun to watch. But yeah, they don't really seem like they know what they're doing.