Sheldon went on a sleepless pain marathon in The Big Bang Theory season 8, episode 13. Read our recap and share your thoughts on “The Anxiety Optimization.”
Happy
Leonard and Penny help Sheldon test out his new noise-canceling headphones by yelling uncomfortable truths at him — the headphones work. Sheldon hopes to compose a theory of Dark Matter by making himself as comfortable as possible.
This — rather emphatically — does not work.
Sheldon stays home from work the next day to sulk over his failure. He walks in on Penny making pained noises as she works out; she hates the workout, but tells Sheldon it makes her work harder.
The lightning bolt
At the University, Howard has invented a new game called “Emily or Cinnamon.” He tests Raj and Leonard on whether or not quotes from Raj were directed at his girlfriend Emily or dog Cinnamon.
Sheldon arrives at the lunch table with a new hypothesis: He has no ideas because he is too comfortable. Sheldon asks the guys to help him foster a state of “productive anxiety.”
“Go out of your way to make my life miserable,” he says.
The guys enthusiastically agree.
Girl talk?
Amy tries to test Sheldon’s productivity before and after irritating him, but he winds up yo-yoing between optimal anxiety levels and happiness. It’s a hard life.
Sheldon gets home — interrupting a game of “Emily or Cinnamon” — and tells the guys to contradict whatever he says. They immediately begin, vexing Sheldon, which he finds helpful.
Sheldon then interrupts Penny, Amy, and Bernadette’s conversation about Penny’s job. He wants to listen to their icky girl conversations to increase his anxiety, but the girls insist they talk about normal things. Sheldon makes a period joke and leaves.
Crazy cat
The rest of the group eats dinner, and Bernadette suggests making Sheldon stop. Howard admits that Sheldon is making interesting progress on proton decay (which would apparently be huge) and then turns the conversation back to “Emily or Cinnamon.”
Meanwhile, Amy insists Sheldon take off his brain-pain hat during date night. She is concerned that he isn’t sleeping, and is driving himself crazy.
Sheldon refuses, afraid that he will stop making progress on Dark Matter if he takes a break. Amy throws him out; on the bus home, Sheldon has a hallucinatory conversation with Armadillo Isaac Newton.
Penny and Leonard trick Sheldon into going to bed by singing him “Soft Kitty.” (It’s adorable.)
Delicious
Some time later, a well-rested Sheldon admits that he continues to make scientific progress. Raj brings Emily over to the table for lunch, and she says she thinks it’s sexy that Raj is so sensitive about Cinnamon.
…right up until she kisses him, and has to spit dog hair out of her mouth.