logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
24m 28s

Sleep solutions

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The amount of sleep you get makes a huge difference to your life – don’t get enough and it can harm your health, productivity and decision making.

But research also suggests that people on lower incomes sleep less, because of things like shift work, overcrowded housing and stress. So how do you improve the sleep of those most in need?

We visit a project in the north of England which is recycling old mattresses to help sleep deprived families afford a decent slumber. Myra Anubi talks to a researcher studying the sleep of people living in informal settlements in India and are discovering the power of a little nap. And we find out about a project in Spain which is helping hospital patients sleep more soundly.

Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Josephine Casserly and Esperanza Escribano Producer: Craig Langran and Claire Bates Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy

Email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk

Image: A bed (Getty Images)

Up next
Nov 25
Preserving Peru’s food heritage
<p>Peru is famous for its diverse and innovative cuisine - but how is it making sure its venerable food heritage is preserved for decades to come? We meet the indigenous Quechua people who are cultivating more than 1300 species of potato, working with scientists to safeguard seed ... Show More
23m 23s
Nov 18
How literacy can change a life
<p>Learning to read empowers people, reduces poverty and increases their job chances. Yet more than 700 miliion adults are illiterate, the majority of them women. We look at innovations to help adults learn how to read from flatpack classrooms in flood-prone regions of Bangladesh ... Show More
23m 31s
Nov 11
Saving seabirds and squirrels
How do you save threatened species? This week we look at two novel solutions. In the UK, scientists are developing a unique contraceptive that will be fed in a nutty spread to grey squirrels, an invasive species that threatens the native red squirrel. And how scientists are movin ... Show More
23m 26s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Can insomnia be fixed?
How did you sleep last night? Perhaps you couldn't drift off, or maybe you woke in the middle of the night and then couldn't nod off again.In this special edition of Inside Health we're talking all about insomnia. It’s an issue that may affect many of us at some point in our live ... Show More
27m 53s
Jul 2023
How to Sleep Better | Diane Macedo
<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p>If you're not sleeping well, it's harder to do anything you care about. It's harder to get healthier, to be more focused and produc ... Show More
1h 2m
Nov 2022
Working to Sleep and Sleeping at Work
There’s more to sleep than being a good sleeper. So many factors—from overall health to our environments—impact our experience of sleep and how our brains and bodies behave while sleeping. From restless leg syndrome to sleepwalking to narcolepsy, researching and diagnosing sleep ... Show More
27m 52s
Apr 2022
How to Sleep Better | Diane Macedo
<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p>Sleep may be the apex predator of healthy habits, so why are so many of us getting terrible sleep? </p> <p><br /></p> <p>Guest Dian ... Show More
1h 4m
Feb 2021
Save Your Sleep with Sleep Evangelist Dr. Sophie Bostock (Episode 20)
Menopause and midlife can send dueling wrecking balls straight into your sleep architecture, leaving you tossing and turning unable to get to sleep, waking up with racing thoughts at 3 a.m., and generally depriving you of the rest and regeneration you need. This week’s guest, Dr. ... Show More
1h 16m
Apr 2024
186. The psychology of sleep
<p>Sleep is one of our most vital functions but how many of us actually know that much about it, the links to our physical functioning, mental health, relationships and overall wellbeing. What about some of the strange experiments they've conducted to investigate dreams or how lo ... Show More
42m 39s
Feb 2022
Bite-Sized: Why Sleep Is So Important to Your Health
We’re joined by Guy Meadows, physiologist, and leading sleep expert, to discuss why sleep is such an integral element of our health. Here’s a quick recap: Why sleep is so key for supporting and improving our mental health How long we should be sleeping for How sleep supports o ... Show More
14m 17s
Feb 2024
Get an Early Night
Michael discovers his long-time penchant for an early night could have some real health benefits. If you are someone who could go to sleep earlier and simply put it off with an extra episode or phone scrolling, Michael recommends going to bed an hour earlier than normal because g ... Show More
13m 55s
Jun 2019
#58 – AMA with sleep expert, Matthew Walker, Ph.D.: Strategies for sleeping more, sleeping better, and avoiding things that are disrupting sleep
<div style= "font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-st ... Show More
29m 1s
Sep 2022
Introducing: Chasing Sleep
Ever wonder how an astronaut conducts experiments in space at zero gravity? Or how an ultra-marathon runner completes a 100-mile race, running non-stop for almost 24 hours? The answer is good sleep. Welcome to “Chasing Sleep,” a brand new podcast from iHeart Radio in partnership ... Show More
1m 27s