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Sleeping.

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We're told we should spend a third
of our lives doing it.

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But we don't.

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Making Britain one of the most sleep
deprived countries in the world.

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ALARM CLOCK RINGS

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According to the British Sleep
Council,

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a massive 70% of us feel we get
less shut eye than we need.

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I'm Dr Michael Mosley.

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I'm a medical journalist and a
chronic insomniac.

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I don't have any problems going to
sleep,

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but at three o'clock in the morning,
almost every morning, bang,

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I'm awake, and I take ages
drifting off again.

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I'm simply not getting enough sleep.

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MUSIC: Can't Sleep
by K. Flay

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But how much sleep do we really
need?

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And if we are not getting enough,
is that a problem?

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I'm convinced we are sleepwalking
into a sleep crisis.

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So many of us are waking up feeling
ghastly in the morning,

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but we don't do anything about it.

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Could our lack of sleep cause
significant risks to our health?

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There are some big studies that have
suggested it is associated with

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the development of obesity
and type 2 diabetes.

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I'll be teaming up with
world-renowned experts to pick apart

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cutting-edge research and conduct
pioneering tests

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on sleep deprived volunteers...

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including me.

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I'm going to turn human guinea pig
to try and discover what's causing

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my insomnia, and see if there is
anything out there

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that might actually help.

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I'll investigate top tips for all of
us to get a better night's kip.

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Could dietary fibre hold the answer?

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It's coming, guys.

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What about chilling before bedtime,
literally?

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And could having coffee just before
a sleep help save your life?

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A lovely espresso.

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# Long nights, no peace

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# I feel like everybody's eyes on
me... #

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What I've discovered has turned a
lot of what I thought I knew about
sleep

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on its head.

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So, if you fancy a good night's kip,
keep watching.

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This is The Truth About Sleep.

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Over the last 60 years,

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the amount of sleep we've been
getting every night

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has fallen by an average
of one to two hours.

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And, it seems, not only are we
sleeping less, we are sleeping
worse.

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According to a survey by the
Mental Health Foundation,

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up to a third of us say we suffer
from insomnia.

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That means that either you find it
difficult to go to sleep,

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or, like me, you wake up
in the middle of the night.

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So, what's going on?

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# Deep in the bosom of the gentle
night... #

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It's recommended we should try to
get seven to eight hours' sleep a
night.

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Nine hours if you're a teenager,
older people a bit less.

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But it seems that we Brits just
aren't getting enough.

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Insomnia is just one of the causes
of sleep deprivation.

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Shift work, partying and our modern
lifestyle

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are all conspiring to stop us
getting enough kip.

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# I can't get no sleep... #

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How many hours of sleep do you get
a night?

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Around seven.

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Probably six or seven.

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Four hours, five hours.
As little as three sometimes.

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Six, seven hours. Six, seven.

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Is it enough? No! No.

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Two nights on the trot I don't think
I've hardly slept at all.

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It's clear that lots of us feel we
are not getting enough sleep.

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But how can we tell?

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Well, there is an easy test to try
at home.

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One way to tell if you're sleep
deprived

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is to go to bed
in the middle of the afternoon

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and find out how quickly,
if at all, you fall asleep.

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To do that, you need a watch,
a metal spoon and a metal tray.

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The fancy name for this
is the sleep onset latency test.

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You check the time,
then shut your eyes.

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When you fall asleep, the spoon
should hit the tray. Bang!

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And wake you up.

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If you fall asleep after 15 minutes,
you're OK.

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Ten, you're sleep deprived.

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But if it's five minutes or less,

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then you may have severe sleep
deprivation.

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CLATTERING

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Right. Blimey!

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Oh, that was just over ten
minutes.

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So, I guess that's just...
I'm, er...

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moderately sleep deprived.

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'As I suspected, I'm not getting
enough sleep.'

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I decided to do this test on some
willing office workers.

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Three out of ten who fell asleep,
nodded off in around ten minutes.

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That's not surprising
because 40% of the UK population

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say they regularly get less than
six hours of sleep a night.

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And that's not enough sleep.

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Bleary-eyed workers are bad for
business.

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Their poor productivity and
absenteeism

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cost the UK up to £40 billion
a year.

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So, what's causing us to sleep
so badly?

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I'm always on my phone,
and I hardly get any sleep at all.

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The internet, videos.

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You always think, "Oh, one last
video", and then you watch 50.

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Do you do social media? Yeah.
Yeah, that keeps you up.

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On my phone, laptop, there's always
loads of distractions.

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My partner gets up and disturbs me.

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I just have thoughts whizzing round
my head.

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I can't sleep after going to the
gym or playing sports,

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that wakes me up too much.

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If something wakes me up,
I can't get back to sleep.

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I know I can't.

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We all lead busy lives, but is there
a more fundamental cause?

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'Sleep problems run in my family.'

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Good health!

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To sleep!

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Is it particularly common?

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Because I don't know that many
people who wake up

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in the middle of the night
and then can't get back to sleep.

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It tends to be more, they can't get
to sleep in the first place.

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I think it is. I think, particularly
as you get older,

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because I used to have no problems
with sleep at all when I was
your age,

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and it's kind of come on me,
probably sort of 40s onwards.

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We're a family of strange sleep
patterns.

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You have difficulty going to sleep,
don't you?

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Yeah, it's definitely one of those
cases where you can be tired all
day,

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and, as soon as I put my head down,
everything starts going through my
mind,

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and suddenly it's impossible to get
to sleep for the next 40 minutes
or so.

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But then when I am asleep,
I remain asleep.

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What, throughout the night?
Mm-hm.

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What do you do to try and go to
sleep?

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It's quite hard to just, like,
shut my brain down,

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so I normally find it easiest
listening to repeats of Blackadder.

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OK, to just try and bore yourself
to sleep? Mm.

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One of these things just to distract
you from what's going on in your
head.

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I have a collection of very
fine economics books which I read

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at three in the morning, and they
bore me into submission.

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You kind of need something that is
completely non-stimulating.

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Both of us have a tendency towards
insomnia,

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which means we either struggle
to get to sleep or stay sleep.

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But does this matter?

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What happens during the night?

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To find out what I get up to when
I'm asleep,

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I've got an infra-red camera here,

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and I've also got this activity
monitor

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which will measure my every move.

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Tonight, I'm going to go to sleep
here in the spare room

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and see what happens.

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OK, this is slightly weird.

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I assume it's working.

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I'm quite tired
and I'm going to bed.

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And... Yeah.

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It's going to be strange being
filmed while I'm sleeping.

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I'm not entirely comfortable
about it.

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I should sleep in a series of
roughly 90-minute cycles.

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Stage one is where you drift in
and out of consciousness,

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before moving to stage two,

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when your brainwaves slow.

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Then you move to stage three and
four.

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Deep sleep, where breathing also
slows,

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and there is little muscle movement.

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You go back to stage two before REM
sleep, rapid eye movement,

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when your eyes flick from side to
side and you dream.

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And this cycle should be repeated

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five or six times
throughout the night.

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But this is what happens to me.

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Oh, dear!

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So...

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It's kind of, er...

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..3.45, and...

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In the morning. 3.45am.

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And I am...

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..reasonably awake.

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I think I might...

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..read for a little bit and try
and go back to sleep again.

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Doing pieces to camera at this time
in the morning is not fun.

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OK.

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During deep sleep, our brains are
busy laying down memories.

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It's also a time when scientists

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think our brains are being
spring-cleaned.

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Toxins and waste washed away.

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And our bodies should be getting
some well-earned rest.

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But in my case,
this clearly isn't happening.

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I'm waking up
during the middle of the night,

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which is annoying and rather
worrying.

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So, should I blame my lifestyle
or my genes?

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To see how genetics affects sleep, I
sent my blood off for DNA analysis.

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And now I've come to the Surrey
Sleep Research Centre

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to meet Professor Simon Archer.

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'He's been looking for any genetic
markers which may reveal

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'what kind of sleeper I am.'

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We've looked through more than
500,000 of your DNA.

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OK, that's a lot. Yep...

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And we specifically looked at
your sequence variance for

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51 genetic locations that have been
shown to be reliable markers

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for different characteristics
of sleep.

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'Simon claims he can tell whether
we are morning or night people,

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'larks or owls,
simply by looking at our genes.'

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I know what I think I am,

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that's why I'll be very interested
to see what this says.

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You have three genetic markers

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that would predict
you are a morning-type person.

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Which is absolutely right.

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OK. You then have five markers for
long sleep duration.

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So, from that we would predict that,
on average,

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you need slightly more sleep
than usual. Yep.

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I get really, really grumpy
when my sleep is cut.

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00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,480
In fact, one of the reasons I gave
up being a doctor

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was because of that.

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I became really quite unpleasant
when I was sleep deprived,

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which is not a good thing in the
medical profession, on the whole.

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So, morning person, need your sleep.
Yep.

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00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:23,160
'These genetic markers have been
identified from DNA studies

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'involving hundreds of thousands
of people.

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00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,040
'And Simon has discovered even more
about me.'

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We also then found a marker for
increased insomnia.

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00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:35,520
OK. Blimey! You're scoring well.

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00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,000
So, I can blame my genes,
at least in part, can I?

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00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,360
Yes. And also a marker which has
been associated

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00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:44,480
with poor sleep efficiency in people

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00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,680
who are exposed to high levels of
work-related stress.

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Right.

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So, increased insomnia, so it might
take you longer to get to sleep,

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so you may have disrupted,
fragmented sleep during the night

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and you might wake up during
the night.

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00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,760
And particularly when I'm stressed,
particularly when I am very busy,
that's what happens.

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00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,040
Right. OK. So that fits.
I respond very badly to stress.

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That fits. So, morning preference,
slightly longer sleep duration,

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insomnia and a bit of poor sleep
efficiency.

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And then lastly, there's a marker
for increased sensitivity to
caffeine,

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and caffeine-induced sleep
disruption.

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How interesting, because I would
have said the exact opposite.

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00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,840
I kind of assumed that I can drink
caffeine with impunity.

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00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:28,160
Whereas my wife, if she drinks
caffeine after midday, she twitches.

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00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:32,960
But possibly, I'm just not
recognising the effect it's having
on me.

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Exactly. So, it may be that drinking
too much coffee is causing you

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disrupted sleep during the night.

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OK. Right.

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Now, that was really interesting,

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and was also slightly spooky that he
could tell so much about me

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just based on my genes, my DNA.

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It was striking how much of my
insomnia was in my genes

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and the fact that I find it
difficult to sleep under stress

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was also quite revealing,
and absolutely accurate.

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00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,520
The only thing that genuinely
surprised me, though,

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00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,760
was the fact that I seem to be very
sensitive to caffeine,

241
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,760
so I should obviously try and reduce
that as much as possible.

242
00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,160
Even without knowing what your own
genes are telling you,

243
00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:21,360
caffeine really isn't a good idea
if you struggle with sleep.

244
00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,760
And there's another drink
that isn't great either.

245
00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:25,640
Alcohol.

246
00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,680
Many people use alcohol to help them
get off into the land of nod,

247
00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:32,600
but the truth is it can cause
interrupted sleep,

248
00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:34,200
and sleep quality will be poor.

249
00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,680
Plus, it relaxes your throat
muscles, causing snoring.

250
00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:43,080
It can then keep your partner awake,
too.

251
00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:50,240
So, I can partly blame my insomnia
on my genes,

252
00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,920
and it certainly isn't helped
by my love of coffee,

253
00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,160
plus the odd glass of wine.

254
00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,560
But I am worried about the long-term
consequences

255
00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:02,800
of getting too little sleep.

256
00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,760
I know after I've had a terrible
night's sleep, I become irritable,

257
00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,040
impulsive, and it really messes with
my memory.

258
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:19,280
A lack of sleep can also be
extremely dangerous.

259
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:24,080
Rates of type 2 diabetes and
obesity are rocketing in the UK.

260
00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:28,400
They are associated, in turn, with
an increased risk of heart disease

261
00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,080
and cancer.

262
00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:32,040
But is there a link to sleep?

263
00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,160
I'm on my way to Leeds University,

264
00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,160
where they're doing some really
interesting research on diabetes.

265
00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:44,360
Now, if you are a diabetic,

266
00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:48,160
it means you're not able to properly
control your blood sugar levels,

267
00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:52,560
and I'm particularly concerned
because my dad was a type 2
diabetic,

268
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,640
and he died early from
complications.

269
00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,000
I know that I'm at high risk
of type 2 diabetes.

270
00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,600
'I'm meeting Dr Eleanor Scott,

271
00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:11,480
'who is doing ground-breaking
research into a possible link

272
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,920
'between type 2 diabetes
and lack of sleep.'

273
00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,600
Now, I think most people know that
lack of sleep makes them tired...

274
00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,800
Yep. But what other things does lack
of sleep do?

275
00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,880
This is a really interesting area
of research.

276
00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:28,160
We know that a lack of sleep alters
the levels of different hormones

277
00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,960
that are involved in how we
perceive appetite and hunger,

278
00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:34,440
so we get more of the hormones
that cause us to feel hungry,

279
00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,040
and less of the ones
that cause us to feel full.

280
00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:41,280
And an additional effect may be to
do with the stress hormone cortisol.

281
00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,160
And we know that if you don't sleep
as well,

282
00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:45,200
that it effects the levels of that,

283
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,640
and that may be another factor
as well.

284
00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:52,760
There are some big studies suggested
that people who sleep too little,

285
00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:54,560
and, indeed, those who sleep
too much,

286
00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,720
its associated with the development
of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

287
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,560
I really feel that people don't,
at the moment,

288
00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,720
realise quite how profound
the effects are.

289
00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:09,960
Dr Scott has agreed to undertake
an exciting study for us.

290
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,600
She'll monitor the glucose levels
of a group of volunteers,

291
00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,120
and then deliberately disrupt
their sleep.

292
00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,160
We'll see if their levels rise,

293
00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,880
an indicator of the increased risk
of type 2 diabetes.

294
00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:26,840
What we want to do is to get some
healthy participants

295
00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,280
who are just living ordinary,
everyday lives,

296
00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,880
and get them to sleep two nights
where they sleep as normal,

297
00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,200
two nights where they restrict
their sleep, just by three hours,

298
00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,640
and then two nights where they are
allowed recovery sleep,

299
00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,480
and we want them to wear a
continuous glucose monitor

300
00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,920
so that we can see, every five
minutes, what that's actually doing

301
00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,560
in real life to their
glucose levels,

302
00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,120
and also to wear an activity
and sleep tracker,

303
00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,480
so that we can check that
they do alter their sleep.

304
00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:58,520
Fingers crossed, OK?

305
00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:00,520
I shall catch up with you in
a few weeks' time.

306
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:02,400
By then you should...
By then we'll know!

307
00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:03,800
For better or for worse.

308
00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,400
Exactly. Thank you very much.
Bye-bye.

309
00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,520
It will be the first time a study
like this has been undertaken

310
00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:14,760
outside the lab, in the real world.

311
00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,800
People going about their daily
lives, but on less sleep.

312
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,240
Right, let's check some blood.

313
00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,240
Pull back...

314
00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:25,920
and brace for the pain.

315
00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:30,680
Ooh!

316
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:31,960
BEEPING

317
00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:33,880
There we go, that's done it.

318
00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:35,640
Oh, 4.2!

319
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,920
We'll all record our sleeping
patterns for a week,

320
00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:41,960
and keep a diary of our progress.

321
00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,400
Didn't get that good a sleep last
night for whatever reason,

322
00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,800
so I'm going to put it down to a
three.

323
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,000
Restricting your sleep isn't
pleasant,

324
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,600
especially when you're ready
to go to sleep,

325
00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,360
but it's hours before you are
allowed to hit the hay.

326
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,440
It's 10pm,
and I'm absolutely ready for bed...

327
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,160
..but I don't get to go to bed
for another three hours now.

328
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:12,000
This morning, I'm so groggy.

329
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,840
Miserable. Lethargic.

330
00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:16,680
Tired.

331
00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,560
Fed up with the whole world.

332
00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:22,600
And all the time, we're busy
monitoring our blood sugar levels.

333
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,280
I had about three-and-a-half hours
of interrupted sleep,

334
00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:28,720
and that was part of this
experiment.

335
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:30,880
I've just taken my blood sugar
levels.

336
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,120
I had breakfast recently,
but, nonetheless,

337
00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:36,440
I think you can probably see
that that's 9.8.

338
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:38,840
Actually, about the highest
I've ever seen them.

339
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:42,120
I mean, they do go up after
breakfast, but not that much.

340
00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:43,480
That's pretty bad.

341
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,000
I'm back in Leeds to see
Dr Scott and our volunteers

342
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,520
for the results of our sleep
deprivation experiment.

343
00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,160
I wonder if, like me, they found
cutting back on sleep

344
00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:02,400
really hard going.

345
00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:09,080
I have never felt such craving for
sugar, and I felt really limp,

346
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,360
and I couldn't be arsed.

347
00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:13,960
My mental capacity wasn't on it,
but also the hunger,

348
00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:15,360
I really wasn't expecting.

349
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:17,240
I wanted, like, lots of biscuits.

350
00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,640
And I didn't just have one.
I'd go for, like, ten.

351
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:22,080
And I wrote it down in my diary.

352
00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:23,760
Ten Custard Creams.

353
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:25,760
Is that abnormal?
Yeah, that's abnormal...

354
00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:26,840
for a breakfast.

355
00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,400
LAUGHTER

356
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:30,400
OK, results time.

357
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:31,880
Yeah. Absolutely.

358
00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:36,640
What we've done here is,
as a group, so all six of you,

359
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,560
we've taken your average glucose
across the 24 hours

360
00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:41,840
for your two normal nights.

361
00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,480
And you can see that on the
black line here.

362
00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,720
So, you can see that your glucose
normally dips overnight,

363
00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:50,400
but you get a slight peak when you
have your breakfast,

364
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:52,520
another peak when you have your
lunch,

365
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:54,360
and then another one with your
evening meal,

366
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:55,920
and then it falls down again.

367
00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:57,600
But then on the purple line, here,

368
00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,440
you can see what happens to your
glucose level

369
00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:02,800
when you've had your two nights
of short sleep.

370
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,880
And you can see that your glucose
level is running higher

371
00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,120
across the 24 hours.

372
00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:10,480
Why is that a bad thing?

373
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,880
Because we know that raised glucose
is one of your biggest risk factors

374
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:16,480
for going on to develop diabetes,

375
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:18,200
and if it's over a certain
threshold,

376
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,200
it means you have got diabetes.

377
00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,040
I found that when I was
sleep deprived,

378
00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,480
my blood sugars went up into what's
called a pre-diabetic range.

379
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:28,160
And that was kind of worrying.

380
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,320
Certainly, a lot of the other
evidence from big studies suggests

381
00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:33,440
that people with short sleep,

382
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:37,560
they are more likely to become obese
and also develop type 2 diabetes.

383
00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,520
Were you surprised by those results?

384
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,480
I think to be able to show it
in a small group of subjects,

385
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,040
and for everybody to have exactly
the same response,

386
00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,480
that they raised their glucose,
I was surprised to see that.

387
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,520
And reassured, because it suggests
that we are on the right track

388
00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:52,760
of understanding.
Yes.

389
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:54,960
I want to know, why is it that I
felt hungrier

390
00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,400
with a higher level of sugar
in my system?

391
00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,400
Yeah, I suspect it was more the fact
that you were sleep deprived

392
00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:02,080
that made you feel hungrier.

393
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,640
And we know that
that alters your appetite hormones.

394
00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,560
So, it makes you more likely to feel
hungry and less likely to feel full.

395
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,000
We also know that people crave
very sweet,

396
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,360
very high carbohydrate content
foods.

397
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:15,600
So, as you did with the
Custard Creams.

398
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,120
Also, if you're awake when you're
not meant to be,

399
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:20,560
actually, that's quite stressful
to our bodies.

400
00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,680
And we know that you produce more
of the stress hormone cortisol,

401
00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,840
and that can influence your glucose
level as well, the next day.

402
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:30,440
I certainly found I was both
incredibly irritable, very hungry,

403
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:32,240
craving carbs, but resisting them,

404
00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:36,960
but even despite the fact that I
didn't change my diet at all,

405
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:38,840
my blood sugars just went crazy.

406
00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,400
And the other thing is that, over
time, we know that the amount

407
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,320
of sleep that the population has
been having has been declining.

408
00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,640
So, over the last 50 years or so,

409
00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,560
people have been curtailing their
sleep by about two hours.

410
00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,600
So, given that you have done it just
for three hours for a short term,

411
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,520
if that's what's happening to the
nation, then, potentially,

412
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,880
that's increasing their hunger,
increasing their obesity,

413
00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:02,240
increasing their risk
of type 2 diabetes.

414
00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,200
Early night for me tonight, then!

415
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,920
I was really struck by the way our
volunteers all reported having these

416
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:16,000
desperate, sugary, carby cravings
when they were sleep deprived.

417
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:20,240
And also the way this played havoc
with their blood sugar controls.

418
00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:22,000
Now, this was only a few days,

419
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,400
but longer-term studies have shown
that people who sleep for less

420
00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,560
than seven hours a night are at
significantly greater risk of both

421
00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,440
obesity and type 2 diabetes.

422
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,160
So, it seems that our blood sugar
levels really can be

423
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,280
seriously affected by a lack
of sleep.

424
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:43,680
But why is this happening?

425
00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,880
And what is going on in our bodies?

426
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,760
There is a lot of really interesting
research going on at the moment

427
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,120
into the impact that your gut
bacteria,

428
00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:54,000
also known as your microbiome,

429
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,960
has on your health and also your
weight.

430
00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,480
Now, I'm particularly interested
in the effect that sleep,

431
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,080
or lack of it,
has on those gut bacteria.

432
00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:07,200
So, what I've done is, I took poo
samples after a good night's sleep

433
00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,640
and then after a bad night's sleep,
and sent them off to be analysed,

434
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:13,360
and I'm off now to find out
what the results are.

435
00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:15,080
It should be really interesting.

436
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:19,680
'This is Dr Jonathan Cedermaes.

437
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:23,720
'He's been doing research into the
impact of lack of sleep

438
00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:24,760
'on gut bacteria.'

439
00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,680
You've got all these microbes
living in your gut.

440
00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:31,920
Yeah.

441
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:33,480
What are they doing? What are they?

442
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,400
You can basically sum them up
in this,

443
00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,520
which is over a kilogram of gut
microbes.

444
00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:40,520
This is about 100 trillion cells,

445
00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,560
which equals approximately the
number of cells that you yourself

446
00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:45,440
are composed of.

447
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:50,040
So, you can say that we are equal
bacteria as we are human cells.

448
00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,160
So, what are these gut bacteria
doing?

449
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,880
They're helping us absorb nutrients

450
00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,800
and they are a barrier against
infectious agents

451
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,560
that might otherwise enter our body,

452
00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:05,360
and they basically help us promote
both a normal metabolism,

453
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,320
but also a normal immune system.

454
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:13,480
But what is the link between
how I sleep and my gut bacteria?

455
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,680
So, what I did is I took a poo
sample,

456
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,520
I was sleep deprived for a couple
of nights, took another one,
sent it to you.

457
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,560
You had the pleasure of looking
at it. Yes. What did you find?

458
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:28,240
We found an increase in the ratio of
two sets of bacteria that have

459
00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,960
also been found to be shifted in a
similar direction in obese humans.

460
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,520
The mechanism by which they change,
or why they change,

461
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:39,280
is that they promote an increased
energy uptake.

462
00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,640
So, basically, when you eat food,

463
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:46,840
the bacteria greatly determine how
much calories your guts absorb,

464
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,600
and that is then circulating
in your system.

465
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:53,400
Basically, your gut becomes more
efficient in absorbing nutrients.

466
00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,600
You might think that if you had
less sleep,

467
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:00,400
your gut bacteria
wouldn't work as well.

468
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,160
But it seems to be the reverse.

469
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:04,880
When you are sleep deprived,

470
00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:09,720
you appear to extract more calories
out of the same amount of food.

471
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,120
Do you think there is a link between
the fact that we are reducing

472
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:15,120
our sleep and obesity rates
are going up?

473
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:16,600
I do think that, yeah.

474
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:21,360
The concurrent rise of obesity and
sleep deprivation in society

475
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:23,680
would certainly suggest
that there is a link.

476
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,280
So that would obviously be good if
you were out in the jungle

477
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,400
and don't have very much access
to food,

478
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:34,640
but in modern society where we have
a hamburger or chips and pizza,

479
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,200
it's obviously not a good thing,

480
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,760
and that's also what the high rates
of obesity tell us.

481
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,920
The thing which strikes me,
making this film,

482
00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:46,040
is that people have no idea,
or very little idea,

483
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:50,040
of how widespread the impact of
sleep deprivation really is.

484
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:51,320
Exactly. It's very new,

485
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:55,720
so we definitely need more studies
to see how sleep

486
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,040
influences the gut microbiome

487
00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,880
and how we can utilise changes in
our gut microbiome

488
00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,920
in association with changed sleep to
promote better health

489
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:06,960
and perhaps reduce the risk
of obesity.

490
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,760
So, the experts really are finding
new and unexpected ways

491
00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,520
in which lack of sleep affects
our bodies.

492
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,040
The link between sleep and weight
is getting stronger.

493
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:23,840
A recent study, for example,

494
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,920
found that half of those who sleep
for less than five hours a night

495
00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:28,560
are obese.

496
00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:34,360
If lack of sleep really is a hidden
cause of one of the biggest health

497
00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:37,240
crises we currently face,

498
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,480
then we need to take sleep very
seriously indeed.

499
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,320
But these days, there are more and
more obstacles to getting

500
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:46,760
a good night's sleep.

501
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,360
Our technology.

502
00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:50,000
Our work patterns.

503
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,800
The stress of everyday life.

504
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,640
So, what's the solution?

505
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:55,920
What do people turn to?

506
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:57,120
A glass of water for me.

507
00:26:57,120 --> 00:27:00,160
Nesquik for me. Or sometimes, like,
lavender oil on your pillow.

508
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,200
I sometimes take a paracetamol.

509
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,240
A little bit of mindfulness stuff.

510
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,480
Put the radio on and listen to some
white noise.

511
00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:11,200
Recently, I've been reading, like,
an easy-read novel.

512
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,160
I think one glass of red can help
you go to sleep.

513
00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,160
Anything more than that
is a different question.

514
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,240
It can be a sleeping pill.

515
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,040
And I have been taking sleeping
pills for ten years.

516
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,920
A medical solution might be
sleeping pills...

517
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:28,440
..but are they a good solution?

518
00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,920
Over 15 million prescriptions
are issued every year.

519
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:40,200
Last year, the NHS spent more than
£50 million treating insomnia.

520
00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:46,320
I'm meeting a GP in south London,
Dr Sara Kayat,

521
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:48,920
to find out what she thinks of
sleeping pills.

522
00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,640
Do you prescribe many sleeping
pills?

523
00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:56,680
I try not to. Usually, if I do
prescribe it, it is short courses.

524
00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:01,520
It'll be a matter of prescribing it
if, for example, they're jet-lagged,

525
00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,720
or they've had a really bad week at
work and they're just not getting

526
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:06,400
back into their rhythm of sleep.

527
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,400
Or if they're having a really acute
time with depression,

528
00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:11,480
or a bereavement,
something like that.

529
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,320
But we try not to prescribe it
as a long-term solution.

530
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:17,360
What's wrong with sleeping pills?

531
00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:20,960
Unfortunately, they are addictive,
and you do build a tolerance.

532
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,200
So, you end up needing to use more
of them in order to get the same

533
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,120
quality of sleep, and at some point
you're going to hit a wall where

534
00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:29,280
you can't have any more,
and then what do you do?

535
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:31,000
You need to find the underlying
solution.

536
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,640
If we know that sleeping pills are
pretty bad for you,

537
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,840
certainly in the long-term, why are
prescriptions still doing that?

538
00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,920
There's going to be a group of
people that will doctor shop,

539
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,360
for example, and, eventually, the
next thing you know,

540
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,800
they've had a whole month's worth
and we don't know how it's happened.

541
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:47,840
I think it's also a matter of
desperation.

542
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,080
Patients are going to be so
desperate to get a night's sleep,

543
00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:54,360
and when you've got that patient
in front of you, you know, crying,

544
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:58,040
getting really upset, you feel bad,
and you want to be able to help
them,

545
00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:00,840
and you know
that a short course will.

546
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:05,200
So, I think it's a matter of trying
to manage your own patients,

547
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:09,520
and manage their expectations
as well as their emotions.

548
00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,040
It's a tricky one with sleep.

549
00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:14,400
Sleeping pills are addictive.

550
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,720
They're for short-term use only,
and they don't solve the problem.

551
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,720
Could the answer lie instead
inside our heads?

552
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:29,120
I've come to the University of
Oxford to meet neuroscientist

553
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:30,080
Russell Foster.

554
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:36,920
Professor Foster is trying to help
us sleep better by doing

555
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:41,240
pioneering research into a mechanism
we all have within our brains.

556
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,320
Our internal body clock.

557
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,200
This, I think, has been one of the
great success stories

558
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:48,560
over the past 20 years.

559
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:52,400
The master clock within the brain
resides right at the base

560
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:53,840
of the brain in the hypothalamus.

561
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:56,880
So, I suppose, an intersection
between the bridge of my nose
and my temple.

562
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,560
And there is a clock there?
It's about 50,000 cells,

563
00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:03,400
and what we discovered is that
there's a third light-sensing system

564
00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:05,480
within the eye. We have the rods
and cones,

565
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:08,920
which are grabbing light to give us
an image of the world,

566
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,120
and yet there is another light
sensor,

567
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,080
and it acts as a brightness
detector.

568
00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,600
And it's those cells that are
picking up the dawn-dusk signal,

569
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,640
and firing the information off to
the brain.

570
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,160
So, our eyes aren't just seeing
things,

571
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,920
they're also sending a signal to
this clock in the brain, basically,

572
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:27,760
telling it to reset?

573
00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:31,000
Absolutely. So, the eye is both the
organ of space,

574
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,120
it gives us our visual sense,
of course, but it's also,

575
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,760
by its detection of the dawn-dusk
cycle, an organ of time.

576
00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:40,960
It sets the internal time to the
external world.

577
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,080
And that's the master clock.

578
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,920
Right. So it's like Big Ben, just
basically sending out signals...?

579
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:49,080
Dong! Yes. It's midday, go and
have lunch... Dong!

580
00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:50,520
It's nine o'clock, go to bed.

581
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:54,640
Exactly. But every cell in the body
also has the capacity to generate a

582
00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,840
24-hour oscillation. It has its own
endogenous clock. OK.

583
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,880
And so, the master clock is sending
out a signal which is then

584
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:04,760
coordinating the rhythmic activity
of billions and billions of
individual

585
00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,720
cellular oscillators, organised
throughout the organ system.

586
00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,840
So, to continue my analogy, you have
Big Ben, who is the central one...

587
00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,000
Mh-hm. ..But we all have our own,
if we're all little cells,

588
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,920
we all have our own watches and
sometimes they're running a bit
fast,

589
00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:19,560
a bit slow... Exactly. ..And Big
Ben is basically dictating it.

590
00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,600
So, it's a bit like the conductor of
an orchestra sending out a rhythmic

591
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,120
beat. OK. Now, if you shoot the
conductor,

592
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:26,520
if you blow up Big Ben,

593
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:30,720
then all these peripheral clocks in
the gut and the liver and all the

594
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:32,400
others, start to drift apart.

595
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:36,400
Yes. So, instead of this beautiful
symphony, we have this cacophony,

596
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:37,880
and a smear of time.

597
00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:46,920
One of the reasons for my insomnia
could be that my body is out of sync

598
00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:48,800
with my body clock.

599
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,440
Anyone who has ever had jet lag
will know what that feels like.

600
00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:59,520
Professor Foster and his colleagues
from Oxford University are looking
for solutions...

601
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:02,480
in Denmark, strangely enough.

602
00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:06,680
They are using natural light and an
extreme living concept.

603
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:12,800
With this, they hope to reset our
master clock, our Big Ben,

604
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:14,760
to get our bodies back in harmony
again.

605
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,400
This is the appropriately named
Sunshine Island,

606
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:20,720
off the Baltic coast.

607
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:25,360
Bornholm gets more hours of sunshine
than anywhere else in Denmark.

608
00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,400
And that's one of the reasons why
Oxford University

609
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:34,520
has built a house here
made entirely of glass.

610
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,800
'I'm joined by Dr Katarina Wulf

611
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:40,680
'who is leading this project.'

612
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:42,000
Hi, there!

613
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:43,440
It is fantastic.

614
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:45,280
I had no idea what to expect.

615
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,000
It's really good. Hello, very nice
to see you.

616
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:48,280
Hello. Good to see you.

617
00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:49,520
Is it nice and warm inside?

618
00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:53,080
Yeah, let's go inside.
It's just fantastic, though,

619
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:55,840
the amount of light you get in a
place like this.

620
00:32:55,840 --> 00:33:00,680
So this is a house that's basically
trying to mimic a normal house but

621
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:01,960
without the walls.

622
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:06,840
So, you have the kitchen, you have a
bathroom, and you have a bedroom.

623
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,000
It has a really spacious feel,
doesn't it?

624
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:15,240
So what exactly is the link between
light and sleep?

625
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:19,400
Sleep and light come together in
terms of our body clock.

626
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:23,840
So, really, when we are exposed to
the natural light in the morning,

627
00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:25,760
that would wake you up.

628
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,560
Equally, in the evening, when the
light goes down,

629
00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:31,360
it makes you more sleepy and you go
to sleep.

630
00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:35,680
'I'm going to spend the night here,
going to bed when the sun goes down,

631
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,080
'and then letting the rising sun
wake me.'

632
00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,800
You have to be a bit of an
exhibitionist, and I'm guessing this
is my bed,

633
00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,800
as well, because presumably people
can stare in.

634
00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:47,280
There are not many people around.

635
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:49,680
OK, so it's a bit like camping, but
much more civilised.

636
00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:51,080
Yes. Much more civilised.

637
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:53,840
Let me know how you sleep.

638
00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,640
Thank you very much, I will. See you
in the morning.
See you in the morning.

639
00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:00,440
Now, this place is absolutely
amazing.

640
00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:04,240
There's nearly 5,000 units of light
coming in.

641
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:08,000
It should be about ten times more
than in a normal bedroom,

642
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,400
and that's the whole point about
this place.

643
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:15,080
It's to let lots of natural light
flood into you throughout the day.

644
00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:18,720
And by doing so, that helps to reset
your internal clock.

645
00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:22,000
And one of the biggest problems we
have in modern society is the fact

646
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,640
that our internal clock, which is
driven by the light,

647
00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:28,040
is completely out of sync with our
sleeping clock.

648
00:34:29,720 --> 00:34:35,120
Katarina believes that modern,
artificial light, from TVs, phones,

649
00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:39,120
tablets and computers is interfering
with our body clocks,

650
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:41,880
shifting them out of phase.

651
00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:46,520
It seems many of us are suffering
from a state of almost permanent
jet lag.

652
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,920
Since I'm trying to minimise the
impact of 21st-century technology,

653
00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,120
then I suppose I'd better hand these
over.

654
00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:02,160
Night!

655
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:07,480
Time to bed down for the night.

656
00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:13,320
Katarina is charting my sleep with
an activity monitor,

657
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:14,920
to see what effect, if any,

658
00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:18,960
sleeping in this glasshouse has on
my body clock and my general

659
00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:20,360
wellbeing.

660
00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,960
As dawn breaks, it's natural light,

661
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:28,520
and not an alarm clock,
that wakes me.

662
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:39,000
'Soon, Katarina arrives to download
the data from the monitor...'

663
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:40,400
Good morning. Good morning.

664
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:42,200
'..which I was wearing during the
night.'

665
00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:46,200
I kind of slept OK, but not the best
night's sleep, but not bad.

666
00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:48,240
So I shall be interested to see
what this says.

667
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:54,800
So what you see is that you go to
sleep around 9.30pm,

668
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:58,920
then you have a little bit of
movement just after midnight,

669
00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:02,400
and then you probably wake up around
four o'clock.

670
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,120
Yeah, that's kind of when I woke up

671
00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,640
and I turned on the light and read
for a little bit.

672
00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:09,640
Yeah. But then you went back to
sleep for another two hours,

673
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,080
and your final wake is about six
o'clock in the morning.

674
00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:15,560
I woke up feeling really quite perky
and alert and I'm feeling quite good

675
00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:18,720
at the moment. So, you think that
maybe because I'm getting a good old

676
00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:20,320
dose of morning sunlight?

677
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,280
That's what I think, and it's nice
waking up.

678
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:27,840
So far, Katarina has only tested
this house on volunteers,

679
00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:32,600
but she's hoping that her research
will make us all re-evaluate how we

680
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,200
use daylight to control our body
clocks and sleep patterns.

681
00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:42,920
What I would like to see is that
we pay more attention to the
24-hour day,

682
00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:45,800
and not just for when we are awake,

683
00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:49,560
and that we in particular pay
attention to how much light we

684
00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,520
expose ourselves to in the morning.

685
00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:54,920
So you'd like to see, basically,
more windows and more light,
generally,

686
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:56,960
coming into gloomy British houses?

687
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:58,160
Exactly. Exactly.

688
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,280
So I can see if I can persuade my
wife that we should leave the
curtains

689
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:03,840
open, as long as the neighbours
can't see you!

690
00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:05,440
I think it's a very simple solution.

691
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,400
Now, we're not going to be living
in glasshouses any time soon,

692
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,720
but this research should encourage
architects to bring a little bit

693
00:37:14,720 --> 00:37:16,520
more light into our lives.

694
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:19,320
And if you want to reset your own
internal clock,

695
00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:22,640
one of the best things you can do is
go and get lots of early morning

696
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:24,160
light. I'm off for a stroll.

697
00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:34,160
Other ways to reset your body clock
which our sleep scientists recommend

698
00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:37,400
include removing technology from
your bedroom.

699
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:41,600
Take the TV out and stop answering
e-mails or going on social media at

700
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:43,040
least an hour before bedtime.

701
00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:48,720
And turn the clock away to stop
yourself obsessing about time.

702
00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:52,160
This is called sleep hygiene.

703
00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:54,640
It's a set of rules for good
sleeping,

704
00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:58,000
like decluttering the bedroom and
making it just for going to bed.

705
00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:05,240
But what else can we do to try and
improve our sleep?

706
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:08,680
Are there more surprising or unusual
solutions out there?

707
00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:14,000
I think I will just put
"cures for insomnia"

708
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,200
into Google and see what happens.

709
00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:22,360
Right. That comes up with 109
million possible websites to visit!

710
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,120
I'm going to narrow it down a bit.

711
00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:27,360
Now, there are an awful lot of
things that are blindingly obvious,

712
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:31,000
but I found four things that are
slightly more unusual and which

713
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:32,640
actually have some science
behind them,

714
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:36,520
they've actually had papers
published on them.

715
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:39,080
I've asked GP Dr Sara Kayat to
find me

716
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:41,560
three sleep-deprived patients to

717
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:43,560
try these treatments on.

718
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,000
I'll also be doing one of them.

719
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,480
Meet shift-worker Daniel,

720
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:52,760
pilates instructor Yolanda
and events manager Jasmine.

721
00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:56,840
Like me, they are all desperate for
a good night's sleep.

722
00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:58,640
I have been a bit of a bad sleeper
all my life.

723
00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:00,240
I think it runs in the family.

724
00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:01,800
I have trouble sleeping,

725
00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:05,200
getting my body clock back from sort
of working night shifts.

726
00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:07,520
I haven't really slept for 20 years.

727
00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:12,600
OK, so top of my list here is
mindfulness,

728
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,800
which is very fashionable at the
moment.

729
00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:18,760
'It's mostly used to treat stress,
but could it help you sleep better?'

730
00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:20,800
You concentrate your mind on the
present.

731
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,840
It's about breathing and focusing on
your breathing and thinking about

732
00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:26,080
what's happening right there and
then.

733
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,040
'What's next?' Now, this is quite a
simple idea.

734
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:33,040
You have a hot bath or a shower
around an hour before you go to bed.

735
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:35,200
You come out into a cooled-down
environment.

736
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:38,400
It's a bit of an old wives' tale,
but there is some science behind it.

737
00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:39,480
According to this study,

738
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:43,320
this led to an increased likelihood
of sleep initiation, in other words,

739
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:45,640
they fell to asleep faster.

740
00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:47,360
Kiwi fruit.

741
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:48,480
Yeah, I don't mind kiwis.

742
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:51,880
Try two kiwi fruit an hour before
you go to bed.

743
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:56,320
They took 24 people and made them
eat two kiwi fruit an hour before

744
00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,760
bedtime for four weeks, and it
really did seem to make a
difference.

745
00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:02,680
Now, this is an unusual one.

746
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:05,640
It's from the University of
Colorado, Boulder.

747
00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:08,240
Dietary prebiotics improve sleep.

748
00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:12,160
What they found is that eating a
particular type of fibre seems to

749
00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:15,200
help sleep. At least, it does in
rats.

750
00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,640
Well, I think it's probably time for
a human to give it a go.

751
00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:21,000
Welcome to lab rat number four.

752
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:28,640
What I've got here is something
that's called a prebiotic,

753
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:31,680
and what it consists of is a
white powder,

754
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:35,560
and it's a bit like a fertiliser for
the bacteria in my gut.

755
00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:38,760
It looks a bit like dried milk
powder.

756
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:40,440
I'm told it's completely tasteless.

757
00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:43,640
It's gone into a slightly
disgusting-looking lump.

758
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:49,240
But apparently my bacteria are going
to love this.

759
00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:50,720
It's coming, guys!

760
00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:54,880
Ah!

761
00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,280
Doesn't add to the flavour.

762
00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:01,520
'I'm going to persevere with my
prebiotic fibre drink for a week

763
00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:03,520
'and then catch up with the other
lab rats.'

764
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:09,240
In the meantime, I'm off to
investigate a short-term fix for

765
00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:13,680
those times when being sleepy is
really, really dangerous.

766
00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:22,720
Up to a quarter of all accidents on
major roads are caused by drivers

767
00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:26,440
falling asleep. Many leading to
death or serious injury.

768
00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:30,560
# I've been driving all night... #

769
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:36,320
We've all had that experience of
micro-sleeps, when you kind of
nod off,

770
00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:38,960
a bit like that, and you may not
even be aware you've done it.

771
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:43,800
It lasts for a second or two
seconds, whatever, and it's really,

772
00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:46,760
really scary. You can travel an
awful long way

773
00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:48,400
along the motorway while

774
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:50,840
you are sitting there with your
eyes closed.

775
00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:57,560
Around one in three of us admit at
some point to having fallen asleep

776
00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,280
at the wheel.

777
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,720
Clearly, you shouldn't be driving if
you are feeling sleepy,

778
00:42:04,720 --> 00:42:08,640
but if it happens to you on a long
journey, then there is a neat fix.

779
00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:13,840
Research suggests that having a
strong coffee just before a nap

780
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:18,680
could actually help you feel more
rested.

781
00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:26,000
'To find out, I've got a ruler and
three volunteers.

782
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,880
'Dave, Carl and Jo.'

783
00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:32,120
Are we feeling that sort of late
afternoon slump coming on?

784
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:34,120
Getting there. Getting a little bit
sleepy?

785
00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,000
Now, have any of you ever fallen
asleep at the wheel?

786
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:38,360
I have.

787
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:41,600
Your eyes closing, yeah? Absolutely.
It's terrifying, isn't it? It is.

788
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:44,640
So, what I wanted to do is show you
a way that you can deal with it if
that

789
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:49,000
happens to you again. And I'm going
to start by measuring your reaction

790
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,840
time. So I'm going to drop it, and
you're going to try and catch it.

791
00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:53,640
And I'm not going to tell you when.

792
00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:54,840
THEY LAUGH

793
00:42:54,840 --> 00:42:56,280
And do it again.

794
00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,360
''m using the ruler to measure
reaction times.

795
00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:04,960
And finally.
'20cm is 0.2 of a second.

796
00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:07,440
'I'm taking an average of three
goes.'

797
00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:09,840
You think you can beat Jo?

798
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:12,680
Very good. And David.

799
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:15,800
Very good, yeah, yeah. OK, whoa!
And again.

800
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:19,640
Whoa! Very good. So, I'm going to
take you out to your cars now,

801
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:21,000
and I want you to have a snooze,

802
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,720
but just before you go and try and
snooze,

803
00:43:23,720 --> 00:43:27,200
I'm going to give you a big cup of
black coffee. OK?

804
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:30,640
OK, and here you go,
a lovely espresso.

805
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:35,520
And now a snooze. Knock 'em back in
one. Thank you very much.

806
00:43:35,520 --> 00:43:37,320
MUSIC: Daysleeper
by REM

807
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:46,880
'If you drink coffee immediately
before taking a nap,

808
00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:50,720
'then you'll fall asleep before the
coffee has time to hit your brain.

809
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:57,600
'Well, that's the idea.'

810
00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:03,680
Hi, there. How are you feeling?

811
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:05,280
Did you manage to have a snooze?

812
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:08,160
I think so, yeah.
Oh, my God, it's so bright!

813
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:09,400
THEY LAUGH

814
00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:15,120
Did you manage to get a little bit
of a snooze in, do you think?
I did. Miraculously, yes, I did.

815
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:18,600
Surprising, isn't it, considering
you had an espresso running around
your system?

816
00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:20,600
The dog was also having a little
sleep.

817
00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:23,200
THEY LAUGH
Right, I'm going to redo your
reaction times again,

818
00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:25,520
and I will start with Jo, I think.

819
00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:28,360
OK, here we go, Jo. Let's see if
we're feeling more perky than we
were.

820
00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:31,080
Whoa! OK, I got that.

821
00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:32,760
Now we'll do Carl.

822
00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:34,040
OK. Can you beat her?

823
00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:36,280
Whoa! Very good.

824
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:37,640
HE LAUGHS

825
00:44:37,640 --> 00:44:39,680
And Dave.

826
00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:43,560
And that was an average of 15.

827
00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:48,040
OK. So what I did beforehand, is I
averaged what you had scored,

828
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:50,120
and you were all pretty much the
same.

829
00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:52,280
19, 19, 20.

830
00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:54,440
Having had your snooze and your cup
of coffee,

831
00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:56,400
I'm pleased to say you all improved.

832
00:44:56,400 --> 00:44:57,560
A lot. Very good.

833
00:44:57,560 --> 00:44:59,960
You all went to 15, 14, 15.

834
00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:01,520
Above average.

835
00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:06,720
So you move from the kind of slower
end of average to the higher end of

836
00:45:06,720 --> 00:45:08,800
above average, so you're obviously
perkier now.

837
00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:11,000
Are you feeling perkier? I do.

838
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:16,640
Yeah. Yeah. I think the surprising
thing is that the caffeine didn't

839
00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:18,280
stop you falling asleep. Not at all.

840
00:45:18,280 --> 00:45:21,720
And the reason is because it takes a
while to hit your brain.

841
00:45:21,720 --> 00:45:24,080
Typically about 20 minutes.

842
00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:25,360
Enjoy the rest of your day.

843
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:26,960
Your caffeine-fuelled day.

844
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:33,640
OK, so that wasn't the most rigorous
of scientific experiments,

845
00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:37,600
but it was absolutely consistent
with other studies which have shown

846
00:45:37,600 --> 00:45:42,640
that if you have a cup of black
coffee followed by a 15 or 20-minute
snooze,

847
00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:46,720
then this will make you far more
alert than either just having the
coffee

848
00:45:46,720 --> 00:45:48,920
or just having the snooze.

849
00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:51,840
So if you are driving down the
motorway and you are feeling a bit
sleepy,

850
00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:54,120
it's something I would thoroughly
recommend.

851
00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:04,160
This is obviously a quick-fix
solution to a particular problem.

852
00:46:05,240 --> 00:46:08,800
But quick fixes aren't the answer
for those of us with ongoing sleep

853
00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:13,320
problems, so we've been putting some
longer-term remedies to the test.

854
00:46:16,560 --> 00:46:18,040
Over the last few days,

855
00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:21,040
I've been taking a dietary fibre
drink to help me sleep.

856
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:29,960
Yolanda has been having mindfulness
lessons.

857
00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:32,000
Hi. Hi, Yolanda.

858
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:35,960
Mental exercises designed to
calm the brain down.

859
00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:43,360
Jasmine has been having a hot bath
every night before bed.

860
00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:56,400
While Daniel has been eating two
kiwi fruit every night.

861
00:47:06,760 --> 00:47:08,160
As part of the experiment,

862
00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:10,280
we've set up a thermal-imaging
camera

863
00:47:10,280 --> 00:47:12,440
to monitor Jasmine's body
temperature.

864
00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:15,080
# I can't sleep, I hope I stay awake

865
00:47:15,080 --> 00:47:18,280
# Cos I've been running, running,
running all day

866
00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:21,760
# Long nights, no peace

867
00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:24,960
# I feel like everybody's eyes on me

868
00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:26,720
# I can't sleep

869
00:47:26,720 --> 00:47:28,680
# I hope I stay awake

870
00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:31,520
# Cos I've been running, running,
running all day

871
00:47:31,520 --> 00:47:34,760
# Long nights, no peace

872
00:47:34,760 --> 00:47:38,400
# I feel like everybody's eyes on me

873
00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:40,120
# I can't sleep... #

874
00:47:48,840 --> 00:47:53,040
So, mindfulness is actually about
bringing our awareness into the
present moment.

875
00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:54,680
What's happening here and now.

876
00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:58,160
Once she's out of the bath,

877
00:47:58,160 --> 00:48:02,880
Jasmine lowers the room temperature
to around 17 degrees.

878
00:48:02,880 --> 00:48:06,600
It's thought that this cooling of
her core body temperature will tell

879
00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:07,960
her brain to go to sleep.

880
00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:26,880
We've given them apps to record how
well they're sleeping.

881
00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:29,280
Now, it's time for bed.

882
00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:30,440
Goodnight.

883
00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:34,920
# I can't sleep, I hope I stay awake

884
00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:38,040
# Cos I've been running, running,
running all day

885
00:48:38,040 --> 00:48:41,520
# Long nights, no peace

886
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:45,520
# I feel like everybody's eyes on
me... #

887
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:48,520
I'm not sure if anything's working
or not,

888
00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:51,720
but then again it is quite early to
tell.

889
00:48:51,720 --> 00:48:54,520
# Long nights, no peace

890
00:48:54,520 --> 00:48:58,240
# I feel like everybody's eyes on me

891
00:48:58,240 --> 00:49:00,480
# I can't sleep... #

892
00:49:03,080 --> 00:49:05,840
I'm really looking forward to
finding out the results,

893
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:08,240
although I'm sceptical as to whether

894
00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:10,800
any of these techniques will
really work.

895
00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:18,440
'It's night number seven,

896
00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:21,640
'and I'm having my last prebiotic
fibre drink,

897
00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:24,920
'which acts like a fertiliser for
my gut bacteria.

898
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:29,360
'Not to be confused with a
probiotic, which is live bacteria.'

899
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:33,040
Much to my surprise, it appears to
have been working.

900
00:49:34,800 --> 00:49:37,880
And, yeah, I've been finding that,

901
00:49:37,880 --> 00:49:41,160
whereas normally I would wake up at
about three o'clock every morning,

902
00:49:41,160 --> 00:49:44,400
since I've been taking this stuff,
it's been more like five o'clock.

903
00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:47,920
And I've also been able to get back
to sleep much more easily, so...

904
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,880
..that has been surprising and
really encouraging.

905
00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:54,360
So far, so good.

906
00:50:02,480 --> 00:50:06,560
Time to find out how the other
volunteers have been getting on.

907
00:50:08,760 --> 00:50:11,600
I'm back with Dr Sara Kayat.

908
00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:15,720
The plan was to take a bath and then
go into another room where it was

909
00:50:15,720 --> 00:50:18,520
quite cool, and I think it made
quite a good bedtime routine,

910
00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:23,320
actually. I think the quality of
my sleep was better throughout
the week.

911
00:50:23,320 --> 00:50:25,760
OK. Out of ten, what would you
give it?

912
00:50:25,760 --> 00:50:27,120
About four out of ten.

913
00:50:27,120 --> 00:50:29,160
OK. So, OK, but not fab.

914
00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:31,120
Yeah. I did the mindfulness.

915
00:50:31,120 --> 00:50:33,960
OK, and do you think there was any
change?

916
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:37,120
The first few nights I slept like
normal...

917
00:50:37,120 --> 00:50:42,240
So, badly. And then I have been
sleeping quite well,

918
00:50:42,240 --> 00:50:43,560
just waking up really early.

919
00:50:43,560 --> 00:50:45,720
I'm going to sleep a bit quicker,

920
00:50:45,720 --> 00:50:49,600
and I think I'm getting more hours
together, sleeping.

921
00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:50,760
So, out of ten?

922
00:50:50,760 --> 00:50:52,880
Maybe a six or a seven.

923
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:55,840
And Dan. I tried the kiwi fruit.

924
00:50:55,840 --> 00:50:58,840
It worked all right. On the days
when I did have to get up early,

925
00:50:58,840 --> 00:51:00,720
which is where I struggle sleeping
the most,

926
00:51:00,720 --> 00:51:02,440
I did sleep relatively well.

927
00:51:02,440 --> 00:51:04,200
I'm probably going to keep doing it.

928
00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:05,800
I give it a seven. OK.

929
00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:07,480
As high as seven? Yeah.

930
00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:10,560
So, Michael, tell me a bit
about your fibre experiment.

931
00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:12,520
It was really, really interesting.

932
00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:14,760
At the moment I'd give it probably a
nine out of ten.

933
00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:16,320
I could feel it very clearly.

934
00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:19,120
Brilliant. And then I stopped
taking it,

935
00:51:19,120 --> 00:51:22,440
and within three or four days,
I'd returned to my previous routine.

936
00:51:22,440 --> 00:51:24,120
What a good score. No, absolutely.

937
00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:25,800
But I'm going to give it another go.

938
00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:29,600
My journey to find the ultimate
solution to insomnia is not over,

939
00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:33,360
but it's certainly been given a good
old kick along the road.

940
00:51:33,360 --> 00:51:37,040
'It's a small sample, but they to do
all seem to have worked a bit.

941
00:51:37,040 --> 00:51:39,160
'Some more than others.'

942
00:51:39,160 --> 00:51:43,400
I do feel as if the prebiotic I've
been taking has made a difference to

943
00:51:43,400 --> 00:51:46,440
my sleep. What I want to do now is
find out whether it has made

944
00:51:46,440 --> 00:51:48,840
a measurable difference to my sleep.

945
00:51:50,800 --> 00:51:53,120
Hi, there. Hello.

946
00:51:53,120 --> 00:51:55,400
'I'm meeting Professor Phil Burnett,

947
00:51:55,400 --> 00:51:59,840
'a neuroscientist specialising in
the effects of gut bacteria and

948
00:51:59,840 --> 00:52:01,840
'prebiotics on brain function.

949
00:52:04,440 --> 00:52:09,000
'He's been analysing data from the
activity monitor I've been wearing
every night.'

950
00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:11,840
I've been trying this sort of fibre
supplement,

951
00:52:11,840 --> 00:52:15,320
and I've been surprised because it
does seem to affect the quality

952
00:52:15,320 --> 00:52:17,520
of my sleep, or it would seem
so to me.

953
00:52:17,520 --> 00:52:20,040
I felt as though I was sleeping
better,

954
00:52:20,040 --> 00:52:25,120
and then when I stopped taking it I
felt as though fairly soon I started
sleeping worse. Wow.

955
00:52:25,120 --> 00:52:26,480
That how it feels to me.

956
00:52:26,480 --> 00:52:28,920
But is that what the activity
bracelet shows?

957
00:52:28,920 --> 00:52:32,360
If we look at the day before you
took the supplement,

958
00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:35,560
79% of your time in bed you spent
sleeping.

959
00:52:35,560 --> 00:52:38,680
Right. Inactive, which is what the
watch measured.

960
00:52:38,680 --> 00:52:42,200
And 21% of your time in bed is
spent awake.

961
00:52:42,200 --> 00:52:43,920
Is that a lot?

962
00:52:43,920 --> 00:52:45,360
That's about average.

963
00:52:45,360 --> 00:52:48,960
But, interestingly, five days after
taking the supplement,

964
00:52:48,960 --> 00:52:51,720
your sleep went up to 92%.

965
00:52:51,720 --> 00:52:54,840
Wow. And 8% you spent awake.

966
00:52:54,840 --> 00:52:56,560
Right. So that is very interesting

967
00:52:56,560 --> 00:52:58,680
that you should say that you did
sleep better.

968
00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:01,600
When you see the raw numbers, it
just makes you think, "Blimey."

969
00:53:01,600 --> 00:53:04,880
It kind of felt like that.
but there's something quite
impressive about seeing it.

970
00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:07,560
The only thing that I was puzzled
about, was on night three,

971
00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:08,960
it went down a bit.

972
00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:10,760
So, that was actually a Saturday
night,

973
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:13,200
so I don't know what you were
doing... I had a few drinks!

974
00:53:13,200 --> 00:53:16,440
All right, OK! That may have undone
some of the good.

975
00:53:16,440 --> 00:53:18,680
I wondered at the time whether
you'd notice.

976
00:53:18,680 --> 00:53:21,320
Oh, yes! I can't get away with
anything!

977
00:53:21,320 --> 00:53:25,520
So, what is in that white powdery,
fibre-y stuff I was eating?

978
00:53:25,520 --> 00:53:29,600
Right. Well, that powder you are
taking is a prebiotic.

979
00:53:29,600 --> 00:53:31,880
It's a food for your good gut
bacteria.

980
00:53:31,880 --> 00:53:36,760
Basically, your good bacteria break
down this fibre to produce molecules

981
00:53:36,760 --> 00:53:38,400
called short-chain fatty acids,

982
00:53:38,400 --> 00:53:42,240
and these are the things that might
be having an effect on your sleep.

983
00:53:42,240 --> 00:53:45,320
Of course, when this prebiotic grows
good bacteria,

984
00:53:45,320 --> 00:53:47,720
the bacteria themselves have
beneficial effects,

985
00:53:47,720 --> 00:53:50,560
like synthesised vitamins and
so on,

986
00:53:50,560 --> 00:53:53,720
and beneficial effects to the bowel
and the immune system.

987
00:53:53,720 --> 00:53:57,040
So, the white powder is acting a bit
like a fertiliser for the good

988
00:53:57,040 --> 00:53:58,480
bacteria in my gut, is that right?

989
00:53:58,480 --> 00:54:01,320
Absolutely. Yeah. These bacteria are
in turn producing something?

990
00:54:01,320 --> 00:54:07,240
We think it is the short-chain fatty
acids such as acetate, butyrate,
propionic acid.

991
00:54:07,240 --> 00:54:11,080
We think that's one way that good
bacteria can affect the brain and

992
00:54:11,080 --> 00:54:12,520
affect your health overall.

993
00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:16,160
OK. But what's that to do with
my sleep?

994
00:54:16,160 --> 00:54:20,760
Well, the breakdown of the fibre
itself is producing beneficial

995
00:54:20,760 --> 00:54:23,280
molecules, and the bacteria
themselves,

996
00:54:23,280 --> 00:54:24,880
once they're established,

997
00:54:24,880 --> 00:54:26,720
actually produce other molecules

998
00:54:26,720 --> 00:54:28,560
that benefit your gut and your
brain.

999
00:54:28,560 --> 00:54:32,160
So, perhaps it is because of
these short-chain fatty acids being
produced

1000
00:54:32,160 --> 00:54:34,240
that it is affecting your sleep.

1001
00:54:34,240 --> 00:54:38,280
So, what I was doing was using a
commercial dietary fibre.

1002
00:54:38,280 --> 00:54:42,520
Yeah. If I was looking for this
substance in food, where would I
look?

1003
00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:46,840
Well, the best ones for that
particular prebiotic are lentils,

1004
00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:49,880
red or green, and chickpeas,
or hummus.

1005
00:54:49,880 --> 00:54:53,320
OK. But it's also present in beans,
different types of beans,

1006
00:54:53,320 --> 00:54:57,000
butter beans, lima beans,
that sort of thing.
OK, I hate butter beans.

1007
00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:58,200
OK, well, you don't have to eat
them.

1008
00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:00,680
I hate, hate, hate butter beans,
but I do like lentils,

1009
00:55:00,680 --> 00:55:03,240
and I love hummus. It's funny,
because there are so many sort of

1010
00:55:03,240 --> 00:55:04,880
legendary things around food,

1011
00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:06,760
most of which turn out to be utter
nonsense...

1012
00:55:06,760 --> 00:55:11,000
Yes. But I've never heard of lentils
or hummus as being a sleep aid.

1013
00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:15,240
And yet, this one actually seems to
have at least some decent theory

1014
00:55:15,240 --> 00:55:17,040
behind it.

1015
00:55:17,040 --> 00:55:19,320
Yeah. And don't forget you had a
supplement,

1016
00:55:19,320 --> 00:55:22,200
so this is probably 100 times

1017
00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:26,040
more fibre than a bowl of hummus,
or...

1018
00:55:26,040 --> 00:55:29,720
OK. Does that mean the food is not
going to work,

1019
00:55:29,720 --> 00:55:32,560
or just means it would take longer?
It just means it would take longer.

1020
00:55:32,560 --> 00:55:34,480
This is really new science, isn't
it?

1021
00:55:34,480 --> 00:55:36,360
Oh, yeah. Where you surprised by
this?

1022
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:37,440
I was surprised by it.

1023
00:55:37,440 --> 00:55:39,440
I was quite surprised because I
thought

1024
00:55:39,440 --> 00:55:41,680
you needed to be on the supplement
longer.

1025
00:55:41,680 --> 00:55:43,760
Do you know of any studies in
humans?

1026
00:55:43,760 --> 00:55:45,720
Or am I the first who's looked at
this?

1027
00:55:45,720 --> 00:55:47,080
No, no.

1028
00:55:47,080 --> 00:55:53,040
This is quite novel, and I think it
warrants further investigation...

1029
00:55:53,040 --> 00:55:54,600
THEY LAUGH

1030
00:55:54,600 --> 00:55:58,000
In other humans as well.

1031
00:55:58,000 --> 00:56:01,000
Now, there could be other reasons
why I'm sleeping better.

1032
00:56:01,000 --> 00:56:05,600
Obviously, we need proper human
trials, but it is a promising start.

1033
00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:12,960
We're always being told just how
important fibre is to a healthy
diet,

1034
00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:18,400
so wouldn't it be great if it turned
out that it also helped us

1035
00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:20,240
get a good night's sleep?

1036
00:56:25,040 --> 00:56:30,480
What I've learned about sleep is
that its key not only to our mood
and immediate alertness,

1037
00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:34,560
but it's more important for our
long-term health than I had ever
imagined.

1038
00:56:39,640 --> 00:56:42,280
If you do want a good night's sleep,
there are things you can do.

1039
00:56:42,280 --> 00:56:44,960
For starters, make sure your bedroom
is nice and cool,

1040
00:56:44,960 --> 00:56:47,080
ideally around 17 degrees.

1041
00:56:47,080 --> 00:56:51,320
And also ensure there is absolutely
no electronic equipment in here to

1042
00:56:51,320 --> 00:56:52,880
distract you.

1043
00:56:52,880 --> 00:56:55,440
At least an hour before bed, switch
off all social media.

1044
00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:58,800
That way, by the time you go to bed,
you'll be ready for sleep.

1045
00:56:58,800 --> 00:57:03,000
Earlier in the day, you will have
been out for a walk to get that
early morning light

1046
00:57:03,000 --> 00:57:06,560
which will reset your internal clock
and wake you up.

1047
00:57:06,560 --> 00:57:08,000
For your evening meal,

1048
00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:11,480
do ensure you get something which
is really rich in fibre.

1049
00:57:11,480 --> 00:57:14,600
As we've just seen, that is
incredibly important.

1050
00:57:14,600 --> 00:57:17,160
And also, do avoid alcohol.

1051
00:57:17,160 --> 00:57:20,440
I've incorporated all of these
things into my night-time routine,

1052
00:57:20,440 --> 00:57:22,760
and they really do make a
difference.

1053
00:57:22,760 --> 00:57:25,440
So, goodnight. I hope you sleep
really well.