Aspects of Sleep

Sleep:

Four short films that examine different aspects of the psychology of sleep:

1.Why Do We Sleep? 

We’ll spend about a third of our lives asleep. But why? Why do we need to sleep? Filmed at a University Sleep Laboratory, this short film demonstrates the effect of lack of sleep and why it is so essential to brain function and, ultimately, to survival. [4.20]

2. The Structure of Sleep 

Until relatively recently what happens while we sleep was a mystery. But that changed with the advent of polysomnography, the electrical recording of brain activity. This short film provides students with a clear visual introduction to the stages of sleep. It also shows why we can’t fully understand our waking lives without understanding how sleep works. [2.30]

3. Insomnia: Causes and Treatments 

‘Insomnia’, says one of the respondents we interviewed, ‘can be as debilitating as a physical injury’. This film looks at the causes of insomnia, the cycle of sleeplessness, and Professor Kevin Morgan explains some of the treatments and their effectiveness. [5.32]

4. Sleep, Memory & Learning

While sleep rests and repairs the brain, it continues to be active and sleep psychologists believe one of the things it’s doing is helping to consolidate memories. This short film looks at Professor Gaskell’s research comparing participants who learn in the morning and are tested in the evening with those who learn in the evening and are tested in the morning after sleeping. It also provides students with very good for advice about the best time to learn new information. [3.32]