On Demand
Sleep Deprivation
Ahhhh, babies. We get in bed with producer Hannah Palin, and her husband, and her baby Dominic, as they all try to go to sleep. An intimate portrait of the effects of sleep deprivation.
And then we try to understand what sleep is for by looking at what happens when you don't get it. The tired, cranky feeling of exhaustion, what’s that really about? What thing are you missing by not getting sleep? Dr. Allan Pack describes what an exhausted brain looks like (hint: a 14 year-old boy's room). And Dr. Gulio Tunoni gives us insight into why a good night of sleep is good for the brain and, as the Sisterhood of Convoluted Thinkers and opera singer Brad Cresswell tell us, good for learning how to play music.
Interactive Game! "Tunoni. You decide:" Football Player or Sensitive-Type?
Listen to other stories by Hannah Palin
Dr. Pack at Penn's Sleep Center
Exhausted Brains: read more about Tunoni's work
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Comments
Refresh
Great stuff. Its been awhile since I've been sleep deprived by a toddler, but worrying and waiting for a teenager to come home very late at night has a similar effect. How do we get the little housekeepers in our brains to become more efficient, cleaning up more quickly so we can feel refreshed on even a couple of hours of sleep?
Good luck to Hannah and family!
As a student, I've observed that, when I get just one or two hours less than what I should, I am unbelievably sleepy the next day. However, when I get somewhere around four to five hours, I feel chipper and not as groggy. Of course I just feel terrible if I keep the latter up, but is there a reason for this?
And also, what is the song that plays during the break between deprivation and dreams?
I enjoyed this piece but it left several unanswered questions.
For instance, one hypothesis presented was that "tiredness" was due to the brain not being able to sort everything out (and jumbled proteins...).
But yesterday I worked out 2 hours a the gym, got 7 hours of sleep, and am exhausted today. (I didn't dream about working out either). Couldn't sleep just be a more efficient way of resting the physical body? People get tired doing hard physical activity. Obviously the body needs to recuperate. This can't be associated with the brain working things out... why wasn't this purpose of sleep examined.
I have a two year old who mostly sleeps through the night these days. The first year was hellish--I can completely connect with what Hanna Palin is going through.
She mentioned that she becomes angry when she is sleep deprived. I too have had a great deal of anger, really intense homicidal anger, in the periods of sleep deprivation. I'm normally a pretty well adjusted, calm person. I'd be interested to learn more about why being tired leads to such intense anger. What is anger, and why do we feel it so intensely when we are profoundly tired?
what is the song that plays between segments?
What is the song between this segment and the next?
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