The Mind After Midnight: Where Do You Go When You Go to Sleep?

We spend a third of our lives asleep. Every organism on Earth—from rats to dolphins to fruit flies to microorganisms—relies on sleep for its survival, yet science is still wrestling with a fundamental question: Why does sleep exist? During Shakespeare and Cervantes’ time, sleep was likened to death, with body and mind falling into a deep stillness before resurrecting each new day. In reality, sleep is a flurry of action. Trillions of neurons light up. The endocrine system kicks into overdrive. The bloodstream is flooded with a potent cocktail of critically vital hormones. Such vibrant activity begs the question: Where do we go when we go to sleep? Based on new sleep research, there are tantalizing signposts. We delved into the one-eyed, half-brained sleep of some animals; eavesdropped on dreams to understand their cognitive significance; and investigated extreme and bizarre sleeping behaviors like “sleep sex” and “sleep violence.” The World Science Festival gathers great minds in science and the arts to produce live and digital content that allows a broad general audience to engage with scientific discoveries. Our mission is to cultivate a general public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for all the latest from WSF. Visit our Website: Like us on Facebook: Follow us on twitter: Original Program Date: June 3, 2011 MODERATOR: Carl Zimmer PARTICIPANTS: Carlos H. Schenck, Matthew Wilson, Niels Rattenborg Video Introduction. 00:00 Carl Zimmer’s Introduction. 03:13 Participant Introductions. 04:03 Human sleep vs Animal sleep. 05:40 Sharing sleep traits with animals. 10:03 Ducks sleep with one eye open... but why? 13:22 What is the reason everything needs sleep? 18:30 Are there limits to our dreams? 19:55 Where do we currently stand with dream research? 22:06 The brain never turns off. 26:16 Is daydreaming the same as normal dreaming? 32:18 REM sleep dreams are crazy. 38:57 Dreaming through memory models. 44:41 REM sleep behavior disorder. 46:08 Mel and Norma Gabler and his dream killing 51:58 Sleep fighting footage. 54:20 Sleep state dependent sleep activation. 01:00:28 Extreme animal sleep. 01:02:35 The Curious Case of Kenneth Parks 01:12:10 What is the next step for sleep science? 01:20:38