Why Do We Sleep?

When every minute counts, search-and-rescue dogs can help locate disaster victims far faster than humans alone. Learn about how they're trained in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/sar-dog.htm/printableSee omnystudio ... Show More

The tradition of dropping a ball in Times Square to mark the beginning of a new year only goes back about a century. Learn about the history -- plus four weird things that other cities drop instead -- in this classic episode of BrainStuff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i ... Show More

No, you can't literally die of boredom -- but it can lead to some high-risk behaviors. Learn more about boredom, ennui, and how to shake them in this episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/bored-to-death.htm ... Show More

We spend about a third of our lives either sleeping or trying to fall asleep. Why are we so bad at it? We ask behavioral sleep specialist Jade Wu.  This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh and Carla Javier, edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact checked by Melissa Hirsch, engineered b ... Show More

Lots of people talk in their sleep, especially kids! Have you ever heard anyone babbling away in the middle of the night? Or maybe someone has told you that you do it? Sleep talking is totally normal, but why do we do it? We asked sleep specialist Chris Winter to help us find the ... Show More

As the sleep tracking industry booms, some worry that it could be driving orthosomnia, the medical term for an unhealthy obsession with attaining perfect sleep, usually driven by a wearable device. Madeleine Finlay speaks to consultant neurologist and sleep physician Dr Guy Lesch ... Show More

Do you find yourself tossing and turning for hours whilst struggling to fall asleep? Or are you out like a light the minute your head touches the pillow? Genetics and environment can play a big part in how easy (or not) you find sleeping. BBC science journalist Caroline Steel tel ... Show More

Love it or hate it, it's time to face facts -- we all gotta sleep! Every day, if possible. This week we're discussing all the things that happen when we turn out the lights and go unconscious for several hours each night. Also, Tom explains a harrowing bathroom mishap.This Holida ... Show More

When feeling rundown and tired people tend to focus on getting a good 8-hours sleep as a kind of 'cure all'. But do our busy lives mean we overlook the recuperation benefits of just resting? To tell us more Anne Marie Boyhan, sleep expert at the Sleep Care Company. 

Some people fall asleep almost as soon as their head touches the pillow, while for others it can take hours of tossing and turning. CrowdScience listener Assia needs at least 45 minutes to get to sleep: it's always taken her a long time to drift off no matter how tired she is, an ... Show More

In this episode—in which Abby confronts my sister and me about our inability to have fun—discover: 1. The one “fun” post that caused more people to unfollow me on social media than any other. 2. Why girls may disassociate early from their ability to access fun. 3. Science’s insis ... Show More

<p>Does the type and amount of light you’re exposed to during the day change how well you sleep at night? Diving into the effects of daylight on your internal biological clock, sleep scientist Christine Blume shares practical tips for making natural light part of your daily routi ... Show More