Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:02,189 --> 00:00:04,578
- [Narrator] For centuries,
we've regarded sleep
2
00:00:04,578 --> 00:00:08,745
as nothing more than a way
to recharge our batteries.
3
00:00:09,641 --> 00:00:11,974
But all of that is changing.
4
00:00:13,066 --> 00:00:14,849
- If sleep wasn't important,
5
00:00:14,849 --> 00:00:18,634
it is probably one of the
most significant mistakes
6
00:00:18,634 --> 00:00:21,426
that evolution ever made.
7
00:00:21,426 --> 00:00:23,493
- [Narrator] Once seen as a blank screen,
8
00:00:23,493 --> 00:00:25,594
the sleeping brain is now emerging
9
00:00:25,594 --> 00:00:29,025
as an energetic and purposeful machine.
10
00:00:29,025 --> 00:00:32,100
- In parts of sleep, the
brain is at least as active
11
00:00:32,100 --> 00:00:35,869
and maybe more active
than it is during waking.
12
00:00:35,869 --> 00:00:36,807
- [Narrator] Around the world,
13
00:00:36,807 --> 00:00:39,230
researchers are attempting to penetrate
14
00:00:39,230 --> 00:00:41,463
the mysterious world of sleep
15
00:00:41,463 --> 00:00:43,584
and decipher its secrets.
16
00:00:43,584 --> 00:00:46,584
Secrets that could change our lives.
17
00:00:47,528 --> 00:00:49,538
- I think that what happens during sleep
18
00:00:49,538 --> 00:00:53,336
permits what happens in the waking brain.
19
00:00:53,336 --> 00:00:55,262
- I'm Doctor Jennifer Gardy.
20
00:00:55,262 --> 00:00:57,929
Join me on a surprising odyssey.
21
00:00:58,822 --> 00:01:00,134
This is remarkable.
22
00:01:00,134 --> 00:01:03,342
(laughs)
Wow.
23
00:01:03,342 --> 00:01:07,605
From playing Chopin to
playing with puppets.
24
00:01:07,605 --> 00:01:11,036
From a city that never sleeps
to an isolation chamber
25
00:01:11,036 --> 00:01:13,218
in the Colorado Rockies,
26
00:01:13,218 --> 00:01:16,693
come with me as I begin
a journey to discover
27
00:01:16,693 --> 00:01:17,776
why we sleep.
28
00:01:20,584 --> 00:01:23,334
(dramatic music)
29
00:01:31,432 --> 00:01:33,318
Deep in the German countryside
30
00:01:33,318 --> 00:01:37,485
lies one of the unique
research centers in the world.
31
00:01:39,553 --> 00:01:42,369
Inside this compound, scientists uncovered
32
00:01:42,369 --> 00:01:44,928
one of the first clues that sleep
33
00:01:44,928 --> 00:01:48,928
might be about more than
just conserving energy.
34
00:01:49,818 --> 00:01:50,651
- [Man] That's very nice.
35
00:01:50,651 --> 00:01:53,238
- [Gardy] Doctor Niels
Rattenborg has spent a decade
36
00:01:53,238 --> 00:01:56,541
researching here at the
Max Planck Institute.
37
00:01:56,541 --> 00:02:00,228
But he isn't your typical sleep scientist.
38
00:02:00,228 --> 00:02:04,300
That's because Dr. Rattenborg
doesn't study humans,
39
00:02:04,300 --> 00:02:06,086
he studies birds.
40
00:02:06,086 --> 00:02:07,724
(flapping wings)
41
00:02:07,724 --> 00:02:09,402
- [Rattenborg] Birds are an
excellent group of animals
42
00:02:09,402 --> 00:02:11,731
in which to study sleep,
because they've evolved
43
00:02:11,731 --> 00:02:14,108
sleep patterns remarkably similar
44
00:02:14,108 --> 00:02:17,525
to those in mammals, including ourselves.
45
00:02:21,562 --> 00:02:23,299
- [Gardy] While all animals sleep,
46
00:02:23,299 --> 00:02:26,054
scientists like Dr. Rattenborg now know
47
00:02:26,054 --> 00:02:29,242
that only birds have
slow wave and REM sleep
48
00:02:29,242 --> 00:02:30,325
just like us.
49
00:02:32,307 --> 00:02:35,825
It's why he's studying
the humble Canada goose.
50
00:02:35,825 --> 00:02:36,768
(honk)
51
00:02:36,768 --> 00:02:38,548
A bird that helped him understand
52
00:02:38,548 --> 00:02:41,479
what evolution revealed about sleep.
53
00:02:41,479 --> 00:02:42,312
- [Rattenborg] Some geese over here.
54
00:02:42,312 --> 00:02:43,145
- [Gardy] Yeah.
55
00:02:43,145 --> 00:02:44,443
And he wanted me to demonstrate
56
00:02:44,443 --> 00:02:47,703
what he was the first to discover.
57
00:02:47,703 --> 00:02:49,289
- [Rattenborg] So, you
see those geese sleeping?
58
00:02:49,289 --> 00:02:50,122
- [Gardy] Yeah.
59
00:02:50,122 --> 00:02:53,205
- You think you can sneak up on them?
60
00:02:57,505 --> 00:02:59,035
- [Gardy] Seems pretty easy.
61
00:02:59,035 --> 00:03:01,368
Sleeping geese, smart human.
62
00:03:03,153 --> 00:03:05,820
(playful music)
63
00:03:14,906 --> 00:03:17,028
They're starting to look.
64
00:03:17,028 --> 00:03:21,306
But these geese prove far
more elusive than I expect.
65
00:03:21,306 --> 00:03:23,849
Whenever I get too close, they wake up
66
00:03:23,849 --> 00:03:25,766
and head for the hills.
67
00:03:26,693 --> 00:03:28,900
I give up, it's impossible!
68
00:03:28,900 --> 00:03:30,535
- [Rattenborg] Some
already went back to sleep.
69
00:03:30,535 --> 00:03:32,637
(both laugh)
70
00:03:32,637 --> 00:03:34,442
- [Gardy] According to Dr. Rattenborg,
71
00:03:34,442 --> 00:03:38,609
the geese evaded me because of
an amazing feat of evolution.
72
00:03:42,506 --> 00:03:46,009
It's called unihemispheric sleep.
73
00:03:46,009 --> 00:03:49,473
Whales, seals, and dolphins do it, too.
74
00:03:49,473 --> 00:03:52,842
While one half of the brain
stays awake and alert,
75
00:03:52,842 --> 00:03:54,421
and one eye open,
76
00:03:54,421 --> 00:03:57,653
the other side of the
brain is in deep sleep
77
00:03:57,653 --> 00:04:00,653
and the corresponding eye is closed.
78
00:04:01,499 --> 00:04:04,904
Given this extraordinary
evolutionary adaptation,
79
00:04:04,904 --> 00:04:07,355
Dr. Rattenborg believes
that what's happening
80
00:04:07,355 --> 00:04:11,522
inside the sleeping brain
must be vital to life itself.
81
00:04:13,463 --> 00:04:15,046
And he's not alone.
82
00:04:20,208 --> 00:04:21,041
- Yeah.
83
00:04:23,572 --> 00:04:27,653
- Dr. Sabine Seehagen often
spends more time on the road
84
00:04:27,653 --> 00:04:31,820
than in her lab at Ruhr
University in Western Germany.
85
00:04:33,782 --> 00:04:35,785
That's because her research subjects
86
00:04:35,785 --> 00:04:39,952
have evolved to spend more
time asleep than awake.
87
00:04:40,900 --> 00:04:44,043
Babies nap for up to 16 hours a day
88
00:04:44,043 --> 00:04:48,210
with waking periods lasting
for just an hour or two.
89
00:04:49,715 --> 00:04:51,809
From the bird research, it was clear
90
00:04:51,809 --> 00:04:55,059
that sleep was playing some vital role.
91
00:04:55,059 --> 00:04:57,803
Dr. Seehagen wanted to find out if it was
92
00:04:57,803 --> 00:05:01,720
helping babies consolidate
and retain memories.
93
00:05:03,493 --> 00:05:05,147
- Infants, they have to learn so much
94
00:05:05,147 --> 00:05:06,449
in the first few years of life
95
00:05:06,449 --> 00:05:09,238
and they develop in such
striking ways, really,
96
00:05:09,238 --> 00:05:10,071
everyday a bit more.
97
00:05:10,071 --> 00:05:11,861
(baby exclaiming)
98
00:05:11,861 --> 00:05:15,074
We were interested to see
whether one function of sleep
99
00:05:15,074 --> 00:05:18,680
might be to facilitate memory processing.
100
00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:20,694
- [Gardy] To discover that, Dr. Seehagen
101
00:05:20,694 --> 00:05:23,571
chooses a task that requires baby Moritz
102
00:05:23,571 --> 00:05:26,654
to remember three interrelated steps.
103
00:05:28,490 --> 00:05:29,683
- [Seehagen] We use a hand puppet
104
00:05:29,683 --> 00:05:32,196
and show them three actions.
105
00:05:32,196 --> 00:05:35,446
We throw them how to take off a mitten,
106
00:05:36,609 --> 00:05:38,609
how to shake the mitten,
107
00:05:41,898 --> 00:05:44,815
and then how to replace the mitten.
108
00:05:46,038 --> 00:05:47,995
- [Gardy] What Dr. Seehagen
is attempting to do
109
00:05:47,995 --> 00:05:51,328
is trigger the memory processing system.
110
00:05:56,284 --> 00:06:00,374
The hippocampus is located
deep within our brain.
111
00:06:00,374 --> 00:06:04,541
This is where specific memories
are encoded and stored.
112
00:06:06,086 --> 00:06:09,676
The neocortex is the large,
outer part of our brain.
113
00:06:09,676 --> 00:06:13,426
It establishes associations
between memories.
114
00:06:16,831 --> 00:06:19,427
Dr. Seehagen and her assistant, Carol,
115
00:06:19,427 --> 00:06:22,610
teach the exact same
memory processing task
116
00:06:22,610 --> 00:06:24,610
to several other babies.
117
00:06:29,507 --> 00:06:32,340
(speaking German)
118
00:06:36,610 --> 00:06:38,537
As soon as the testing is over,
119
00:06:38,537 --> 00:06:41,326
some of the babies stay awake,
120
00:06:41,326 --> 00:06:43,699
while others, like baby Moritz,
121
00:06:43,699 --> 00:06:45,199
go down for a nap.
122
00:06:48,618 --> 00:06:51,605
For Dr. Seehagen, this
is a rare opportunity
123
00:06:51,605 --> 00:06:53,872
to discover whether the sleeping brain
124
00:06:53,872 --> 00:06:56,469
is doing something unique
with the information
125
00:06:56,469 --> 00:06:58,052
it's just taken in.
126
00:06:59,973 --> 00:07:02,988
- We were thinking that
if sleep really helps them
127
00:07:02,988 --> 00:07:04,348
to retain the memories,
128
00:07:04,348 --> 00:07:07,800
then only those infants
who napped right away,
129
00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,498
soon after learning, would
remember the actions.
130
00:07:10,498 --> 00:07:12,823
Whereas infants who
would wait with their nap
131
00:07:12,823 --> 00:07:15,406
would not remember the actions.
132
00:07:20,243 --> 00:07:24,233
- [Gardy] Carla hasn't
had a chance to nap yet.
133
00:07:24,233 --> 00:07:27,182
Like all of the babies,
she has just 90 seconds
134
00:07:27,182 --> 00:07:29,643
to repeat the action she saw earlier.
135
00:07:29,643 --> 00:07:32,226
(Carla cooing)
136
00:07:38,977 --> 00:07:43,144
But Carla shows no sign of
remembering the three steps.
137
00:07:48,499 --> 00:07:50,687
(doorbell chimes)
138
00:07:50,687 --> 00:07:54,020
Jonah is another baby who hasn't napped.
139
00:07:59,787 --> 00:08:01,339
- Before we started
our study there was not
140
00:08:01,339 --> 00:08:03,752
very much knowledge about how sleep
141
00:08:03,752 --> 00:08:06,294
might be important for infants' memories
142
00:08:06,294 --> 00:08:08,396
and I'm very interested to see
143
00:08:08,396 --> 00:08:10,890
that infants who wait with the nap,
144
00:08:10,890 --> 00:08:13,535
they did not show signs of remembering
145
00:08:13,535 --> 00:08:15,952
what we've shown them before.
146
00:08:22,422 --> 00:08:25,262
- [Gardy] Across town,
baby Moritz is just up
147
00:08:25,262 --> 00:08:27,620
from his four hour nap.
148
00:08:27,620 --> 00:08:29,120
Now it's his turn.
149
00:08:31,851 --> 00:08:35,101
Without any prompting, he gets to work.
150
00:08:42,436 --> 00:08:43,519
And nails it.
151
00:08:44,687 --> 00:08:46,739
(speaks German)
152
00:08:46,739 --> 00:08:49,787
Dr. Seehagen and her
colleagues conducted this test
153
00:08:49,787 --> 00:08:51,787
on more than 200 infants
154
00:08:53,105 --> 00:08:55,022
with identical results.
155
00:08:56,464 --> 00:08:58,766
- Well, I think it shows
several amazing things
156
00:08:58,766 --> 00:09:00,401
about babies, actually.
157
00:09:00,401 --> 00:09:01,613
Until a few decades ago,
158
00:09:01,613 --> 00:09:03,252
many people even doubted whether infants
159
00:09:03,252 --> 00:09:06,125
can form longer term memory.
160
00:09:06,125 --> 00:09:08,031
But I think our study shows that sleep
161
00:09:08,031 --> 00:09:10,507
seems to play a really fundamental role
162
00:09:10,507 --> 00:09:12,945
in early memory processing.
163
00:09:12,945 --> 00:09:16,237
And I mean, that's a very
fundamental task for infants
164
00:09:16,237 --> 00:09:19,515
to build long term
memories so that they can
165
00:09:19,515 --> 00:09:21,682
use them at a later point.
166
00:09:26,353 --> 00:09:29,186
(classical piano)
167
00:09:35,209 --> 00:09:37,008
- [Gardy] George Ko is in the midst of a
168
00:09:37,008 --> 00:09:39,953
Harvard University tradition.
169
00:09:39,953 --> 00:09:41,191
He's cramming.
170
00:09:41,191 --> 00:09:44,024
(classical piano)
171
00:09:51,371 --> 00:09:54,691
George is trying to learn
Chopin's third Scherzo,
172
00:09:54,691 --> 00:09:57,108
but he's running out of time.
173
00:09:58,439 --> 00:10:01,823
- [Ko] So this week I got
slammed with a lot of work
174
00:10:01,823 --> 00:10:03,730
and I have a performance tomorrow
175
00:10:03,730 --> 00:10:07,147
and I haven't been able to practice much.
176
00:10:08,522 --> 00:10:12,667
- [Gardy] For George, the
solution is a no-brainer.
177
00:10:12,667 --> 00:10:14,762
- [Ko] So I'm probably not
going to sleep tonight.
178
00:10:14,762 --> 00:10:19,590
I'm probably going to hear the
birds chirp in the morning.
179
00:10:19,590 --> 00:10:22,338
- [Gardy] But if babies need
sleep to process memories
180
00:10:22,338 --> 00:10:26,505
and learn, is the same true
for adults like George Ko?
181
00:10:30,865 --> 00:10:33,115
(birdsong)
182
00:10:37,887 --> 00:10:40,939
- Jen, why don't we put you
over here and Jamai, you...
183
00:10:40,939 --> 00:10:42,830
- [Gardy] It's a question
that drives the research
184
00:10:42,830 --> 00:10:45,493
of Doctor Robert Stickgold.
185
00:10:45,493 --> 00:10:47,877
- A really simple test for you guys to do.
186
00:10:47,877 --> 00:10:50,423
- [Gary] Dr. Stickgold is
one of the world's leading
187
00:10:50,423 --> 00:10:52,052
sleep scientists.
188
00:10:52,052 --> 00:10:54,749
- So, put in your first
name or your initials.
189
00:10:54,749 --> 00:10:56,770
- [Gardy] To discover
whether memory processing
190
00:10:56,770 --> 00:10:58,488
is sleep dependent,
191
00:10:58,488 --> 00:11:01,518
Dr. Stickgold needs to
create a complex learning
192
00:11:01,518 --> 00:11:03,181
and motor skill task.
193
00:11:03,181 --> 00:11:05,320
- Now, as soon as you press
another key you're gonna start.
194
00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,452
- [Gardy] What he decides on
is a very simplified version
195
00:11:08,452 --> 00:11:11,256
of performing Chopin's Third Scherzo.
196
00:11:11,256 --> 00:11:12,556
- And your job, take your left hand,
197
00:11:12,556 --> 00:11:16,585
put your four fingers on the
keys one, two, three, and four.
198
00:11:16,585 --> 00:11:18,517
You're just gonna type
that number sequence
199
00:11:18,517 --> 00:11:22,430
over and over again,
four one three two four.
200
00:11:22,430 --> 00:11:26,597
Why don't we just have you
both start together now?
201
00:11:27,665 --> 00:11:30,041
- [Gardy] Both Jamai and I
are going to do this task
202
00:11:30,041 --> 00:11:33,450
a second time, but I'll
get to sleep in between
203
00:11:33,450 --> 00:11:34,736
and she won't.
204
00:11:34,736 --> 00:11:37,406
Then we'll see who has
the bigger improvement
205
00:11:37,406 --> 00:11:39,239
in speed and accuracy.
206
00:11:47,285 --> 00:11:50,365
It seems hard to believe
that just one night of sleep
207
00:11:50,365 --> 00:11:53,855
will help me learn the
sequence and make me faster.
208
00:11:53,855 --> 00:11:55,772
But tomorrow will tell.
209
00:12:03,762 --> 00:12:06,448
The next morning, I'm back.
210
00:12:06,448 --> 00:12:09,642
Jamai did her retest yesterday afternoon.
211
00:12:09,642 --> 00:12:11,059
Now it's my turn.
212
00:12:15,020 --> 00:12:18,603
It all comes down to
who has improved more.
213
00:12:30,325 --> 00:12:32,634
- And here you are.
214
00:12:32,634 --> 00:12:33,640
Let's take a look at this.
215
00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:34,915
- Okay.
216
00:12:34,915 --> 00:12:37,597
First, Jamai's results.
217
00:12:37,597 --> 00:12:39,882
- On her second trial with no sleep,
218
00:12:39,882 --> 00:12:43,361
look at here, she's shown
no improvement at all.
219
00:12:43,361 --> 00:12:46,342
- [Gardy] But I was a different story.
220
00:12:46,342 --> 00:12:48,592
- Then look at this,
you just zoom up there.
221
00:12:48,592 --> 00:12:50,268
You're up to 23.
222
00:12:50,268 --> 00:12:53,768
It's a huge improvement in terms of speed.
223
00:12:54,967 --> 00:12:57,033
It's not just academics and students
224
00:12:57,033 --> 00:12:58,460
who are learning all the time.
225
00:12:58,460 --> 00:13:00,470
We're all learning all the time.
226
00:13:00,470 --> 00:13:02,519
Every time you start your car,
227
00:13:02,519 --> 00:13:03,946
you're learning a little bit more about
228
00:13:03,946 --> 00:13:05,828
how long you have to turn the key,
229
00:13:05,828 --> 00:13:07,491
how much you have to press the gas.
230
00:13:07,491 --> 00:13:09,717
Every time you turn a corner,
231
00:13:09,717 --> 00:13:13,027
you're retooling your
accuracy at doing that.
232
00:13:13,027 --> 00:13:17,941
So we're learning all the time
and we don't even know it.
233
00:13:17,941 --> 00:13:19,788
- [Gardy] When we sleep after learning,
234
00:13:19,788 --> 00:13:21,938
our brain consolidates that memory
235
00:13:21,938 --> 00:13:24,198
so we can retrieve it easily.
236
00:13:24,198 --> 00:13:26,499
The more complex the learning task,
237
00:13:26,499 --> 00:13:29,875
the bigger the benefit we get from sleep.
238
00:13:29,875 --> 00:13:32,069
But when we don't sleep enough
239
00:13:32,069 --> 00:13:35,721
that information never even gets filed.
240
00:13:35,721 --> 00:13:38,317
- If you don't get enough sleep
241
00:13:38,317 --> 00:13:40,341
the night after you've learned,
242
00:13:40,341 --> 00:13:45,211
you are not going to show the
potential benefits from sleep.
243
00:13:45,211 --> 00:13:48,537
Even if you sleep all you
want for the rest of the week.
244
00:13:48,537 --> 00:13:50,971
It has to come in that first night.
245
00:13:50,971 --> 00:13:53,494
So what we're learning
is that night by night
246
00:13:53,494 --> 00:13:56,079
we need that sleep or we'd lose.
247
00:13:56,079 --> 00:13:57,829
We'd lose everything.
248
00:13:59,533 --> 00:14:02,366
(classical piano)
249
00:14:15,529 --> 00:14:16,961
- [Gardy] I'm not the
only one who benefited
250
00:14:16,961 --> 00:14:18,730
from some shuteye.
251
00:14:18,730 --> 00:14:20,465
Instead of pulling an all-nighter,
252
00:14:20,465 --> 00:14:22,298
George Ko went to bed.
253
00:14:26,243 --> 00:14:28,523
According to Dr. Stickgold's research,
254
00:14:28,523 --> 00:14:31,606
it was exactly the right thing to do.
255
00:14:33,868 --> 00:14:36,060
- [Stickgold] When I tell
people that we learn a lot
256
00:14:36,060 --> 00:14:40,427
while we're asleep, they think
that's kind of an oxymoron,
257
00:14:40,427 --> 00:14:43,021
that you can't learn while you're asleep.
258
00:14:43,021 --> 00:14:45,133
But in fact, this is just your brain
259
00:14:45,133 --> 00:14:47,466
doing what it evolved to do.
260
00:14:48,734 --> 00:14:51,864
I think the brain carries
out its most sophisticated
261
00:14:51,864 --> 00:14:56,185
memory and brain functions while we sleep.
262
00:14:56,185 --> 00:14:59,018
(classical piano)
263
00:15:07,598 --> 00:15:09,848
(seagulls)
264
00:15:11,997 --> 00:15:14,945
- [Gardy] Given the power
of sleep to help us learn,
265
00:15:14,945 --> 00:15:18,492
scientists at a unique
biosphere in Colorado
266
00:15:18,492 --> 00:15:22,706
wondered whether it also had
the capability to control
267
00:15:22,706 --> 00:15:24,039
how much we eat.
268
00:15:25,644 --> 00:15:28,561
(electronic music)
269
00:15:31,432 --> 00:15:34,653
What better place to find out why we sleep
270
00:15:34,653 --> 00:15:37,961
than in a city that never does?
271
00:15:37,961 --> 00:15:38,794
- Come on!
272
00:15:38,794 --> 00:15:41,044
(cheering)
273
00:15:44,283 --> 00:15:45,955
- If there's one place on Earth
274
00:15:45,955 --> 00:15:48,472
where we're willing to
sacrifice a little bit of sleep
275
00:15:48,472 --> 00:15:50,522
in the hopes of gaining something better,
276
00:15:50,522 --> 00:15:52,272
it's here, Las Vegas.
277
00:15:53,338 --> 00:15:55,890
But this 24 hour town isn't the only place
278
00:15:55,890 --> 00:15:57,993
we're making this kind of trade off.
279
00:15:57,993 --> 00:16:00,623
Without realizing it, we
might be losing something
280
00:16:00,623 --> 00:16:04,123
far more precious than just a few dollars.
281
00:16:05,968 --> 00:16:10,380
Doctor Scott Killgore is
a professor of psychiatry.
282
00:16:10,380 --> 00:16:14,547
But he's also a lieutenant
colonel in the US Army.
283
00:16:16,159 --> 00:16:18,393
Treating soldiers who
fought on the front lines
284
00:16:18,393 --> 00:16:20,443
made Dr. Killgore realize
285
00:16:20,443 --> 00:16:24,610
that they provided a unique
window on the world of sleep.
286
00:16:26,878 --> 00:16:28,251
- We were doing sleep research
287
00:16:28,251 --> 00:16:30,852
and most people were just
focusing in on reaction time
288
00:16:30,852 --> 00:16:33,137
and simple cognitive processes.
289
00:16:33,137 --> 00:16:36,443
But what about this other
side of which choice to make?
290
00:16:36,443 --> 00:16:37,798
You know, do you drop the bomb now,
291
00:16:37,798 --> 00:16:40,385
do you pull the trigger, do
you not pull the trigger?
292
00:16:40,385 --> 00:16:42,065
Because these are not cold decisions.
293
00:16:42,065 --> 00:16:45,482
You don't make them like a computer does.
294
00:16:47,434 --> 00:16:49,470
They're very emotionally
charged situations
295
00:16:49,470 --> 00:16:51,987
and we need more information about how
296
00:16:51,987 --> 00:16:56,252
lack of sleep affects
emotional functioning.
297
00:16:56,252 --> 00:16:57,661
- [Gardy] At the heart of this quest
298
00:16:57,661 --> 00:16:59,974
lies a seeming contradiction.
299
00:16:59,974 --> 00:17:02,612
As it turns out, our
emotions don't cause us
300
00:17:02,612 --> 00:17:04,771
to make bad decisions.
301
00:17:04,771 --> 00:17:09,330
Most of the time they actually
help us make good ones.
302
00:17:09,330 --> 00:17:12,197
Every day I make thousands of choices,
303
00:17:12,197 --> 00:17:14,280
many of them intuitively.
304
00:17:15,198 --> 00:17:19,087
My intuition is guided by
a special type of memory,
305
00:17:19,087 --> 00:17:20,504
an emotional one.
306
00:17:21,512 --> 00:17:23,199
When I experience something,
307
00:17:23,199 --> 00:17:27,490
my brain flags it as either
positive or negative.
308
00:17:27,490 --> 00:17:29,610
When it's time to make a decision,
309
00:17:29,610 --> 00:17:32,360
these emotional memories help me.
310
00:17:34,418 --> 00:17:35,852
- If you watch those
old Star Trek episodes,
311
00:17:35,852 --> 00:17:38,766
you see that in situations
Spock always had
312
00:17:38,766 --> 00:17:42,074
the logical decision making process.
313
00:17:42,074 --> 00:17:43,069
He was like a computer.
314
00:17:43,069 --> 00:17:45,692
So he didn't let emotions
affect his decisions.
315
00:17:45,692 --> 00:17:49,422
Whereas, Kirk, he could tap
into that gut feeling in the
316
00:17:49,422 --> 00:17:53,275
pit of his stomach and make
the right command decision.
317
00:17:53,275 --> 00:17:56,136
- To get inside the brain
where these gut feelings,
318
00:17:56,136 --> 00:17:59,303
these emotional memories are created,
319
00:17:59,303 --> 00:18:02,851
Dr. Killgore came up with
an ingenious experiment
320
00:18:02,851 --> 00:18:06,818
based on a specially
designed gambling task.
321
00:18:06,818 --> 00:18:08,709
Now I'm gonna visit Dr. Killgore
322
00:18:08,709 --> 00:18:10,637
and put that task to the test
323
00:18:10,637 --> 00:18:12,846
and this time, what happens in Vegas
324
00:18:12,846 --> 00:18:17,013
won't be staying in Vegas,
all in the name of science.
325
00:18:20,065 --> 00:18:22,504
- [Killgore] So the
basic idea here is that
326
00:18:22,504 --> 00:18:23,518
there are four decks of cards.
327
00:18:23,518 --> 00:18:24,351
- [Gardy] Okay.
328
00:18:24,351 --> 00:18:26,844
- And your job is to try to
win as much money as possible.
329
00:18:26,844 --> 00:18:27,677
- Ooh!
330
00:18:27,677 --> 00:18:31,344
- And avoid losing any
money in the process.
331
00:18:32,713 --> 00:18:34,453
(beeping)
332
00:18:34,453 --> 00:18:36,182
- Hello, hundred dollars.
333
00:18:36,182 --> 00:18:38,246
But what no one's told me is that
334
00:18:38,246 --> 00:18:42,077
two of the decks will give me big wins
335
00:18:42,077 --> 00:18:43,994
but even bigger losses.
336
00:18:45,123 --> 00:18:46,028
Hmm.
337
00:18:46,028 --> 00:18:48,711
The other two decks deliver small wins
338
00:18:48,711 --> 00:18:50,294
but smaller losses.
339
00:18:52,813 --> 00:18:54,512
(buzzing)
340
00:18:54,512 --> 00:18:57,620
To come out ahead, I've got
to rely on those gut feelings
341
00:18:57,620 --> 00:19:00,620
to help me make the right decisions.
342
00:19:02,109 --> 00:19:04,229
(beeping)
343
00:19:04,229 --> 00:19:05,819
- All right, let's see.
344
00:19:05,819 --> 00:19:07,617
- [Gardy] Turns out I did all right.
345
00:19:07,617 --> 00:19:10,123
I took home 1200 dollars.
346
00:19:10,123 --> 00:19:11,488
- So, this is your baseline.
347
00:19:11,488 --> 00:19:13,319
So now what I want you to do is
348
00:19:13,319 --> 00:19:15,564
to go out and have some fun tonight.
349
00:19:15,564 --> 00:19:17,268
- [Gardy] I can do that.
350
00:19:17,268 --> 00:19:19,935
It's time to get sleep deprived.
351
00:19:23,743 --> 00:19:26,464
(laughing)
352
00:19:26,464 --> 00:19:27,297
Yes!
353
00:19:30,850 --> 00:19:32,840
A little over a century ago,
354
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,687
we slept, on average, nine hours a night.
355
00:19:36,687 --> 00:19:39,770
Today that's down to less than seven.
356
00:19:40,869 --> 00:19:43,608
So my night on the town
is just a quick way
357
00:19:43,608 --> 00:19:47,338
to get me to where most of us already are,
358
00:19:47,338 --> 00:19:50,990
into a state of serious sleep deprivation.
359
00:19:50,990 --> 00:19:52,363
- Jennifer.
360
00:19:52,363 --> 00:19:54,030
Are you still awake?
361
00:19:55,645 --> 00:19:56,645
No sleeping!
362
00:20:01,519 --> 00:20:02,618
- Good morning, Doc.
363
00:20:02,618 --> 00:20:03,972
- Hey, Jen, how are you doing?
364
00:20:03,972 --> 00:20:06,333
- I gotta be honest, I'm really tired.
365
00:20:06,333 --> 00:20:09,412
I think I'm a nine out of
a ten on the tired scale.
366
00:20:09,412 --> 00:20:10,986
- So, did you get hitched?
367
00:20:10,986 --> 00:20:14,209
- (laughs) No.
368
00:20:14,209 --> 00:20:16,626
After 24 hours without sleep,
369
00:20:17,505 --> 00:20:20,838
it's time to do the gambling task again.
370
00:20:23,226 --> 00:20:24,309
Hello, cards.
371
00:20:25,238 --> 00:20:26,488
My old friends.
372
00:20:27,518 --> 00:20:30,174
This time I keep losing track of the decks
373
00:20:30,174 --> 00:20:34,341
and no matter how much I try,
I can't seem to stay focused.
374
00:20:38,825 --> 00:20:41,464
Yesterday I won 1200 bucks,
375
00:20:41,464 --> 00:20:42,881
today I lose 800.
376
00:20:46,221 --> 00:20:47,888
Whoa, I sucked.
377
00:20:47,888 --> 00:20:49,681
The reason can be found here,
378
00:20:49,681 --> 00:20:53,226
in my ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
379
00:20:53,226 --> 00:20:56,904
This is where those emotional
memories are incorporated
380
00:20:56,904 --> 00:21:00,407
with my reasoning to
guide my decision making.
381
00:21:00,407 --> 00:21:03,593
Normally, this area is very active.
382
00:21:03,593 --> 00:21:06,699
But after 24 hours without sleep,
383
00:21:06,699 --> 00:21:10,866
this critical part of my
brain has simply shut down.
384
00:21:11,712 --> 00:21:12,976
- It's not active anymore.
385
00:21:12,976 --> 00:21:13,809
- Yeah.
386
00:21:13,809 --> 00:21:17,593
- So it's not able to turn on
and integrate your emotions
387
00:21:17,593 --> 00:21:19,556
to guide your cognitions and your thoughts
388
00:21:19,556 --> 00:21:20,505
and your decisions.
389
00:21:20,505 --> 00:21:22,471
So your judgements start to get impaired.
390
00:21:22,471 --> 00:21:23,550
You don't know the right answer,
391
00:21:23,550 --> 00:21:26,261
you can't rely on your gut to tell you,
392
00:21:26,261 --> 00:21:27,335
"That's the way I should go."
393
00:21:27,335 --> 00:21:28,168
- Yeah.
394
00:21:28,168 --> 00:21:31,501
It was impossible to tune in onto those,
395
00:21:32,611 --> 00:21:33,898
the good decks and the bad decks.
396
00:21:33,898 --> 00:21:35,753
- Right, the ability to
integrate the emotions
397
00:21:35,753 --> 00:21:38,185
with decision making becomes affected.
398
00:21:38,185 --> 00:21:40,375
So you just flounder.
399
00:21:40,375 --> 00:21:43,668
- What's fascinating is
that Dr. Killgore found this
400
00:21:43,668 --> 00:21:47,583
same impaired judgment in
people with stroke damage
401
00:21:47,583 --> 00:21:51,221
in this exact same part of the brain.
402
00:21:51,221 --> 00:21:54,005
So, in essence, sleep
depravation is almost
403
00:21:54,005 --> 00:21:56,317
a temporary brain injury.
404
00:21:56,317 --> 00:21:58,903
- Yeah, it's basically
very much like you're
405
00:21:58,903 --> 00:22:00,937
brain damaged, but getting
a good night's sleep
406
00:22:00,937 --> 00:22:02,636
can actually reverse the process
407
00:22:02,636 --> 00:22:04,164
and get you back to your baseline.
408
00:22:04,164 --> 00:22:06,770
- Well, that's good because
you know what I could
409
00:22:06,770 --> 00:22:09,420
use right now is my baseline level.
410
00:22:09,420 --> 00:22:12,587
I would really like to get back there.
411
00:22:14,794 --> 00:22:17,989
By delving deep into
our brain, Dr. Killgore
412
00:22:17,989 --> 00:22:20,460
has discovered a direct
relationship between
413
00:22:20,460 --> 00:22:23,286
sleep and the emotional switching system
414
00:22:23,286 --> 00:22:26,294
that guides our decision making.
415
00:22:26,294 --> 00:22:27,630
- We don't understand everything yet,
416
00:22:27,630 --> 00:22:29,496
but so much of the work
that we've been doing
417
00:22:29,496 --> 00:22:30,983
shows that even cutting your sleep down
418
00:22:30,983 --> 00:22:32,840
by a couple of hours
419
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:34,591
alters the connectivity in the brain
420
00:22:34,591 --> 00:22:37,865
and that in turn affects
your emotional intelligence
421
00:22:37,865 --> 00:22:42,032
and your decision making
and all these areas in life.
422
00:22:43,816 --> 00:22:46,483
- Lights off in three, two, one.
423
00:22:50,274 --> 00:22:51,761
- [Gardy] For two and a half years,
424
00:22:51,761 --> 00:22:55,542
volunteers have lived here
at the University of Colorado
425
00:22:55,542 --> 00:22:57,792
inside a kind of biosphere.
426
00:22:58,913 --> 00:23:00,720
For two weeks at a time,
427
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,098
they sleep, eat, and work in this lab,
428
00:23:04,098 --> 00:23:07,176
isolated from the outside world.
429
00:23:07,176 --> 00:23:10,177
Everything they do is carefully monitored.
430
00:23:10,177 --> 00:23:12,863
They can't take a nap or eat a calorie
431
00:23:12,863 --> 00:23:15,030
without it being measured.
432
00:23:17,233 --> 00:23:18,280
- Hey Chris, let's go
in, let's get started.
433
00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:20,374
- [Chris] All right, sounds good.
434
00:23:20,374 --> 00:23:22,336
- This experiment is the brainchild of
435
00:23:22,336 --> 00:23:25,169
neuroscientist, Doctor Ken Wright.
436
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,560
If sleep deprivation can
cause temporary brain damage,
437
00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,485
Dr. Wright wondered if
it could also disrupt
438
00:23:33,485 --> 00:23:36,602
another system regulated by our brain,
439
00:23:36,602 --> 00:23:39,769
the one that controls how much we eat.
440
00:23:41,006 --> 00:23:43,364
- 1.5 billion adults worldwide,
441
00:23:43,364 --> 00:23:45,580
about 150 million school age children
442
00:23:45,580 --> 00:23:48,733
and 43 million preschool children
443
00:23:48,733 --> 00:23:50,624
are overweight or obese.
444
00:23:50,624 --> 00:23:53,747
And over half of our
adult population right now
445
00:23:53,747 --> 00:23:58,070
is not getting that minimum
of seven hours a night.
446
00:23:58,070 --> 00:23:59,794
(on intercom) Hey gang,
just checking in with you.
447
00:23:59,794 --> 00:24:01,843
How's it going tonight so far?
448
00:24:01,843 --> 00:24:02,820
- It's going good.
449
00:24:02,820 --> 00:24:05,577
- [Gardy] Dr. Wright created
this isolation chamber
450
00:24:05,577 --> 00:24:09,838
to take volunteers deep
into sleep deprivation
451
00:24:09,838 --> 00:24:14,005
to see if that would have
an impact on their weight.
452
00:24:16,549 --> 00:24:19,480
For a week now, this group
has been allowed to sleep
453
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,574
nine hours a night.
454
00:24:21,574 --> 00:24:22,769
- Okay, big boy, time to wake up.
455
00:24:22,769 --> 00:24:26,485
- [Gardy] And eat as
much food as they want.
456
00:24:26,485 --> 00:24:29,863
But now it's time for a radical change.
457
00:24:29,863 --> 00:24:31,344
- Yeah, what do you think?
458
00:24:31,344 --> 00:24:34,273
- [Gardy] The volunteers are
about to have their sleep cut
459
00:24:34,273 --> 00:24:36,842
by nearly 50 percent.
460
00:24:36,842 --> 00:24:40,461
For the next week, they'll
get just five hours a night.
461
00:24:40,461 --> 00:24:41,397
- I'll give you a countdown.
462
00:24:41,397 --> 00:24:45,564
I'll dim the lights and
then give you a countdown.
463
00:24:54,018 --> 00:24:55,185
Morning, Jake.
464
00:24:56,348 --> 00:24:57,598
- Good morning.
465
00:24:59,942 --> 00:25:00,775
- Hey, Chris.
466
00:25:00,775 --> 00:25:01,942
How's the subject going today?
467
00:25:01,942 --> 00:25:03,810
- [Gardy] As the 50 percent cut in sleep
468
00:25:03,810 --> 00:25:07,453
begins to take a toll, Dr.
Wright notices a change
469
00:25:07,453 --> 00:25:09,891
in the amount the volunteers are eating.
470
00:25:09,891 --> 00:25:11,475
- So, as we've been following
people's food intake
471
00:25:11,475 --> 00:25:13,455
across these last four days,
472
00:25:13,455 --> 00:25:15,101
we're seeing something remarkable.
473
00:25:15,101 --> 00:25:18,014
Their food intake is going
up, so they're eating more.
474
00:25:18,014 --> 00:25:20,230
- [Gardy] And not just at mealtimes.
475
00:25:20,230 --> 00:25:24,547
The volunteers are also
consuming more snacks.
476
00:25:24,547 --> 00:25:25,464
A lot more.
477
00:25:28,838 --> 00:25:30,409
- What we're starting to see is that
478
00:25:30,409 --> 00:25:31,609
they're eating more after dinner
479
00:25:31,609 --> 00:25:34,029
than they do at any meal
across the entire day.
480
00:25:34,029 --> 00:25:36,469
So it's as if they're
eating four meals a day
481
00:25:36,469 --> 00:25:38,831
rather than just three.
482
00:25:38,831 --> 00:25:41,702
- [Gardy] But what's most
fascinating for Dr. Wright
483
00:25:41,702 --> 00:25:44,935
is the impact on the two
hormones that regulate
484
00:25:44,935 --> 00:25:46,268
how much we eat.
485
00:25:47,132 --> 00:25:49,465
(crunching)
486
00:25:52,219 --> 00:25:56,634
Ghrelin and Leptin are
called the hunger hormones.
487
00:25:56,634 --> 00:26:00,717
Ghrelins signals the brain
when it's time to eat.
488
00:26:02,597 --> 00:26:05,280
Leptin tells the brain
when the body has enough
489
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,863
stored energy and it's
time to stop eating.
490
00:26:12,738 --> 00:26:15,618
The lack of sleep seems
to be causing a meltdown
491
00:26:15,618 --> 00:26:19,785
in this critical part of our
weight regulation system.
492
00:26:26,636 --> 00:26:28,810
As the volunteers eat more,
493
00:26:28,810 --> 00:26:31,452
both Grehlin and Leptin
are telling the brain
494
00:26:31,452 --> 00:26:34,193
it's time to stop eating.
495
00:26:34,193 --> 00:26:37,953
But these messages aren't getting through.
496
00:26:37,953 --> 00:26:41,183
And the amount of weight
gained by the volunteers
497
00:26:41,183 --> 00:26:42,183
is stunning.
498
00:26:44,235 --> 00:26:46,700
- For these participants
after just five days
499
00:26:46,700 --> 00:26:47,807
of getting too little sleep,
500
00:26:47,807 --> 00:26:49,890
they gained .8 kilograms.
501
00:26:51,553 --> 00:26:53,922
It used to be thought
that sleep was just for us
502
00:26:53,922 --> 00:26:56,123
to feel alert during the day
503
00:26:56,123 --> 00:26:58,839
and for us to think clearly
and perform cognitively
504
00:26:58,839 --> 00:26:59,688
at our best,
505
00:26:59,688 --> 00:27:02,581
but unfortunately, when people
are not getting enough sleep,
506
00:27:02,581 --> 00:27:04,368
they eat more.
507
00:27:04,368 --> 00:27:07,458
And sleep loss is known now
to contribute to that risk
508
00:27:07,458 --> 00:27:09,005
of gaining weight.
509
00:27:09,005 --> 00:27:11,023
People recognize that sleep is something
510
00:27:11,023 --> 00:27:12,919
that they can easily give up.
511
00:27:12,919 --> 00:27:15,403
But when they make that choice,
512
00:27:15,403 --> 00:27:16,757
they're not always thinking about
513
00:27:16,757 --> 00:27:19,425
the long term consequences of that.
514
00:27:19,425 --> 00:27:20,946
While they may get sleepy,
515
00:27:20,946 --> 00:27:23,052
the effects of developing heart disease,
516
00:27:23,052 --> 00:27:24,687
the effects of developing obesity,
517
00:27:24,687 --> 00:27:26,687
those are down the road.
518
00:27:28,372 --> 00:27:30,364
- [Gardy] Sleep regulates our weight
519
00:27:30,364 --> 00:27:32,158
and guides our decisions.
520
00:27:32,158 --> 00:27:35,204
But does it have an impact
on another key function
521
00:27:35,204 --> 00:27:37,412
controlled by our brain?
522
00:27:37,412 --> 00:27:38,844
Dreaming.
523
00:27:38,844 --> 00:27:41,179
Scientists are now trying to discover
524
00:27:41,179 --> 00:27:43,965
if our dream world plays an important role
525
00:27:43,965 --> 00:27:45,632
in our waking lives.
526
00:27:55,938 --> 00:27:59,431
Dr. Antonio Zadra can't
remember a time in his life
527
00:27:59,431 --> 00:28:02,348
when he wasn't intrigued by dreams.
528
00:28:04,079 --> 00:28:06,631
- Dreams have always fascinated humankind
529
00:28:06,631 --> 00:28:08,567
and so people have always
been curious about,
530
00:28:08,567 --> 00:28:11,832
since the dawn of history,
about where dreams come from,
531
00:28:11,832 --> 00:28:15,665
how are they formed, do
they have any meaning?
532
00:28:16,812 --> 00:28:21,487
- [Gardy] We spend 52,000
hours of our lives dreaming.
533
00:28:21,487 --> 00:28:22,820
Six solid years.
534
00:28:23,836 --> 00:28:27,026
Dr. Zadra is convinced
that within this vast ocean
535
00:28:27,026 --> 00:28:30,443
of dreaming lies the key to its function.
536
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,398
To unlock the secrets of our dreams,
537
00:28:39,398 --> 00:28:42,768
Dr. Zadra first had to find a way to enter
538
00:28:42,768 --> 00:28:44,601
this mysterious world.
539
00:28:46,269 --> 00:28:50,436
People like artist James Simon
turned out to be the key.
540
00:28:52,301 --> 00:28:54,535
Along with nearly 100 others,
541
00:28:54,535 --> 00:28:57,448
James is part of a unique group.
542
00:28:57,448 --> 00:29:00,764
He is one of Dr. Zadra's dreamers.
543
00:29:00,764 --> 00:29:02,710
- But I'm aware in the
dream that this raven
544
00:29:02,710 --> 00:29:06,542
has a propensity to lunge
for a person's eyes.
545
00:29:06,542 --> 00:29:09,557
As an instinct, as a reflex.
546
00:29:09,557 --> 00:29:11,906
- [Gardy] Dr. Zadra has
collected and assessed
547
00:29:11,906 --> 00:29:16,073
an astonishing 10,000 dreams
from people like James Simon.
548
00:29:18,156 --> 00:29:21,578
He discovered that women
have more nightmares than men
549
00:29:21,578 --> 00:29:24,535
and that we dream about different things,
550
00:29:24,535 --> 00:29:29,076
women about relationships
and men about calamities.
551
00:29:29,076 --> 00:29:31,758
He's also uncovered that
dreams provide a window
552
00:29:31,758 --> 00:29:35,402
into our psychological well being.
553
00:29:35,402 --> 00:29:37,001
- The more negative emotions
you have in your dreams,
554
00:29:37,001 --> 00:29:40,513
the more negative interactions,
aggressive interactions
555
00:29:40,513 --> 00:29:42,996
you have with other
characters in your dreams,
556
00:29:42,996 --> 00:29:45,274
the less happy you tend to be,
557
00:29:45,274 --> 00:29:48,163
or the more anxious or
depressed you tend to be.
558
00:29:48,163 --> 00:29:51,433
- [Gardy] Taken together, Dr.
Zadra's discoveries reveal
559
00:29:51,433 --> 00:29:55,289
that dreams are not the
random and chaotic occurrences
560
00:29:55,289 --> 00:29:57,456
most of us think they are.
561
00:29:58,763 --> 00:30:00,480
- When you look at people's dreams,
562
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,856
you see that there is more order in them
563
00:30:02,856 --> 00:30:04,895
in the sense that you see a continuation
564
00:30:04,895 --> 00:30:07,645
between what's going on during wakefulness
565
00:30:07,645 --> 00:30:10,312
and the content in their dreams.
566
00:30:13,406 --> 00:30:15,719
- [Gardy] Both Dr. Zadra
and sleep scientist
567
00:30:15,719 --> 00:30:19,116
Dr. Robert Stickgold believe
the connection between
568
00:30:19,116 --> 00:30:21,842
our waking lives and our dream world
569
00:30:21,842 --> 00:30:25,961
is a critical clue to
the function of dreams.
570
00:30:25,961 --> 00:30:29,684
- It's when we sleep and
in part when we dream
571
00:30:29,684 --> 00:30:33,851
that we normally figure out
what the events of our day mean.
572
00:30:36,459 --> 00:30:38,981
- [Gardy] Dr. Stickgold
believes this because
573
00:30:38,981 --> 00:30:42,346
of an extraordinary
conversation that takes place
574
00:30:42,346 --> 00:30:44,513
inside our sleeping brain.
575
00:30:46,133 --> 00:30:49,696
When we first go to sleep,
the memories we've accumulated
576
00:30:49,696 --> 00:30:52,863
during the day flow from the hippocampus,
577
00:30:52,863 --> 00:30:56,771
where they've been stored and
assessed, to the neocortex,
578
00:30:56,771 --> 00:31:00,142
where they're associated
with other memories.
579
00:31:00,142 --> 00:31:04,225
The neocortex kicks into
high gear when we dream.
580
00:31:05,287 --> 00:31:07,222
- Then in that first REM cycle,
581
00:31:07,222 --> 00:31:12,142
it's as if the neocortex
says back to the hippocampus,
582
00:31:12,142 --> 00:31:15,395
"Oh, that's like what
happened last month."
583
00:31:15,395 --> 00:31:17,763
It's as if now the front of the brain
584
00:31:17,763 --> 00:31:21,327
is telling the hippocampus,
"Okay, you know what?
585
00:31:21,327 --> 00:31:23,677
Those details aren't important."
586
00:31:23,677 --> 00:31:26,097
Or, "Those details are important."
587
00:31:26,097 --> 00:31:29,360
And telling the hippocampus
what to do with that information
588
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:33,841
and also working out
itself, in the neocortex,
589
00:31:33,841 --> 00:31:36,424
seeing how things fit together.
590
00:31:39,685 --> 00:31:42,204
- To confirm that dreaming
really does help us
591
00:31:42,204 --> 00:31:45,058
associate memories in
order to give them meaning,
592
00:31:45,058 --> 00:31:48,975
Dr. Stickgold created a
series of unique tests.
593
00:31:51,838 --> 00:31:55,382
In one expermient, Dr. Stickgold
trained a group of people
594
00:31:55,382 --> 00:31:56,378
to go through a maze.
595
00:31:56,378 --> 00:31:59,961
Afterwards, half had
a nap and half didn't.
596
00:32:01,066 --> 00:32:04,474
Later that day, people came
back and ran the maze again.
597
00:32:04,474 --> 00:32:07,705
Those that had napped found
the exit more quickly.
598
00:32:07,705 --> 00:32:10,440
But what got Dr. Stickgold really excited
599
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,607
were those people who both
napped and dreamt about the maze.
600
00:32:16,779 --> 00:32:19,862
They found the exit ten times faster.
601
00:32:21,627 --> 00:32:22,655
- I think what we're seeing now
602
00:32:22,655 --> 00:32:25,905
is that dreams in fact are a reflection
603
00:32:26,875 --> 00:32:29,704
of the kind of processing
that the brain does
604
00:32:29,704 --> 00:32:30,954
while we sleep.
605
00:32:33,223 --> 00:32:37,130
Just us being conscious while we're asleep
606
00:32:37,130 --> 00:32:40,949
and conscious of things that our brain is
607
00:32:40,949 --> 00:32:42,949
constructing as stories.
608
00:32:44,236 --> 00:32:46,381
And so we're really
watching over the shoulder
609
00:32:46,381 --> 00:32:47,798
of a film editor.
610
00:32:48,835 --> 00:32:51,784
But if you just watch
the screen of the editor,
611
00:32:51,784 --> 00:32:54,246
it looks crazy, like a dream.
612
00:32:54,246 --> 00:32:56,710
Things are juxtaposed
from different places,
613
00:32:56,710 --> 00:32:59,498
you don't know why
they're being juxtaposed.
614
00:32:59,498 --> 00:33:01,835
Things are being replayed.
615
00:33:01,835 --> 00:33:04,734
It's as if the brain,
while we're dreaming,
616
00:33:04,734 --> 00:33:08,151
is trying to see how things fit together.
617
00:33:16,515 --> 00:33:18,283
- [Gardy] According to Dr. Stickgold,
618
00:33:18,283 --> 00:33:21,284
this is my sleeping brain giving meaning
619
00:33:21,284 --> 00:33:23,844
to the events of my life.
620
00:33:23,844 --> 00:33:27,970
Dr. Zadra believes if patterns
can be found in this chaos,
621
00:33:27,970 --> 00:33:30,652
they have the power to reveal something
622
00:33:30,652 --> 00:33:33,485
about my psychological well being.
623
00:33:34,771 --> 00:33:36,655
Before I arrived at his lab,
624
00:33:36,655 --> 00:33:39,541
he asked me to keep a dream diary.
625
00:33:39,541 --> 00:33:43,708
So for the last six weeks, I've
been writing down my dreams.
626
00:33:45,218 --> 00:33:47,752
- I had a chance to read over your dreams
627
00:33:47,752 --> 00:33:49,617
and try to quantify their contents,
628
00:33:49,617 --> 00:33:52,373
in terms of the characters
we see, the settings,
629
00:33:52,373 --> 00:33:54,635
the social interactions.
630
00:33:54,635 --> 00:33:56,922
- [Gardy] Dr. Zadra knows
very little about me,
631
00:33:56,922 --> 00:33:59,087
only that I'm a TV host.
632
00:33:59,087 --> 00:34:01,928
But right away he uncovers
my anxieties about
633
00:34:01,928 --> 00:34:06,180
solving problems in a
dream about a leaking pipe.
634
00:34:06,180 --> 00:34:08,019
- So there's all the water,
which is a misfortune,
635
00:34:08,019 --> 00:34:10,281
not your fault, but you still--
636
00:34:10,281 --> 00:34:11,531
- I have to fix it.
- Unplug it.
637
00:34:11,531 --> 00:34:13,448
You still get the towels,
you still mop it up.
638
00:34:13,448 --> 00:34:14,281
- Yeah.
639
00:34:14,281 --> 00:34:17,268
- And so, um, you're still trying somehow
640
00:34:17,268 --> 00:34:21,010
to minimize the damage or to try to
641
00:34:21,010 --> 00:34:23,647
bring it under control to
whatever extent you can.
642
00:34:23,647 --> 00:34:26,361
- [Gardy] Dr. Zadra also totally nails
643
00:34:26,361 --> 00:34:28,497
that I worry about outward appearances
644
00:34:28,497 --> 00:34:31,118
and about the value of my work.
645
00:34:31,118 --> 00:34:33,398
But there's one revelation from my dreams
646
00:34:33,398 --> 00:34:36,916
that catches me completely off guard.
647
00:34:36,916 --> 00:34:38,442
- In over half of your dreams,
648
00:34:38,442 --> 00:34:40,043
there are references to animals.
649
00:34:40,043 --> 00:34:41,546
So the fact that there are many animals
650
00:34:41,546 --> 00:34:43,685
and the way you interact with them,
651
00:34:43,685 --> 00:34:45,868
I would say that you're concerned about
652
00:34:45,868 --> 00:34:46,889
animals' well beings.
653
00:34:46,889 --> 00:34:49,627
Not just your dog or your cat,
if you happen to have one,
654
00:34:49,627 --> 00:34:52,214
but that the well being
of animals is something
655
00:34:52,214 --> 00:34:53,888
that is dear to you, generally.
656
00:34:53,888 --> 00:34:56,033
- This is crazy, you're
making me all misty
657
00:34:56,033 --> 00:34:59,034
and teary-eyed, because
this is remarkable.
658
00:34:59,034 --> 00:35:01,025
Absolutely remarkable.
659
00:35:01,025 --> 00:35:05,354
I do, I have a cat, I have a
dog, I love them to pieces,
660
00:35:05,354 --> 00:35:07,330
I love all animals.
661
00:35:07,330 --> 00:35:08,962
This is remarkable.
662
00:35:08,962 --> 00:35:11,379
(laughs)
Wow.
663
00:35:12,711 --> 00:35:16,478
- I think this entire exercise for Jen
664
00:35:16,478 --> 00:35:18,317
probably made her much more appreciative
665
00:35:18,317 --> 00:35:19,892
of the power of dreams
666
00:35:19,892 --> 00:35:23,785
and again of the order
that we can find in dreams
667
00:35:23,785 --> 00:35:26,283
and the psychological meanings
we can find in dreams.
668
00:35:26,283 --> 00:35:29,189
So there's a relationship over time
669
00:35:29,189 --> 00:35:31,579
about how well people are functioning
670
00:35:31,579 --> 00:35:32,823
and how well they feel
671
00:35:32,823 --> 00:35:36,990
and the content and patterns
in their dreams as well.
672
00:35:38,006 --> 00:35:39,712
- [Gardy] If sleep allows us to enter
673
00:35:39,712 --> 00:35:43,915
the mysterious world of dreams,
could it also be involved
674
00:35:43,915 --> 00:35:47,915
in one of the brain's
greatest unsolved puzzles?
675
00:35:49,685 --> 00:35:53,320
Every night, virtually
every species on the planet
676
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:54,487
goes to sleep.
677
00:35:55,590 --> 00:35:58,588
For the first time, we're
beginning to understand
678
00:35:58,588 --> 00:36:01,114
how this nightly ritual regulates
679
00:36:01,114 --> 00:36:04,447
almost every aspect of our waking lives.
680
00:36:05,737 --> 00:36:09,425
But there's one discovery
that's eluded researchers.
681
00:36:09,425 --> 00:36:13,508
Uncovering the core
biological function of sleep.
682
00:36:15,832 --> 00:36:18,482
For neuroscientist Doctor Jeff Iliff
683
00:36:18,482 --> 00:36:20,963
and a team from Rochester University,
684
00:36:20,963 --> 00:36:23,900
their quest begins with a baffling clue
685
00:36:23,900 --> 00:36:26,531
about a protein that's the key culprit
686
00:36:26,531 --> 00:36:29,269
in Alzheimer's disease.
687
00:36:29,269 --> 00:36:31,406
- So there's a protein
called amyloid beta,
688
00:36:31,406 --> 00:36:33,266
which is made in the brain all the time.
689
00:36:33,266 --> 00:36:35,507
Now, when you're awake,
amyloid beta levels
690
00:36:35,507 --> 00:36:36,842
in the brain go up
691
00:36:36,842 --> 00:36:38,317
and when you're asleep during the night,
692
00:36:38,317 --> 00:36:41,043
amyloid beta levels in the brain go down.
693
00:36:41,043 --> 00:36:43,155
- [Gardy] The question is why.
694
00:36:43,155 --> 00:36:45,507
To find out, Dr. Iliff hopes to do
695
00:36:45,507 --> 00:36:49,964
what few sleep scientists
have ever done before.
696
00:36:49,964 --> 00:36:53,131
Look directly into the sleeping brain.
697
00:36:54,798 --> 00:36:57,212
- [Iliff] We have a very powerful
and specialized microscope
698
00:36:57,212 --> 00:36:59,606
that can actually shine through the skull
699
00:36:59,606 --> 00:37:03,773
into the living brain while
it's doing all of its processes.
700
00:37:05,174 --> 00:37:09,341
- [Gardy] This is the world
of the sleeping brain.
701
00:37:13,472 --> 00:37:17,925
What Dr. Iliff sees is a
complex network of blood vessels
702
00:37:17,925 --> 00:37:20,651
that dive deep into the brain's center,
703
00:37:20,651 --> 00:37:24,783
supplying nutrients and
oxygen to its cells.
704
00:37:24,783 --> 00:37:29,320
But there's something else,
something completely unexpected.
705
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:32,403
At night, the brain begins to change.
706
00:37:34,065 --> 00:37:36,562
- [Iliff] Something's happening
within the tissue itself.
707
00:37:36,562 --> 00:37:39,397
The brain's cells, the
support cells in the brain,
708
00:37:39,397 --> 00:37:41,314
are actually shrinking.
709
00:37:44,124 --> 00:37:46,117
- Dr. Iliff believes the team has
710
00:37:46,117 --> 00:37:49,079
stumbled upon a clue that may be connected
711
00:37:49,079 --> 00:37:52,713
to one of the brain's
most puzzling mysteries.
712
00:37:52,713 --> 00:37:54,463
How it cleans itself.
713
00:37:58,622 --> 00:38:00,331
Like the tributaries of a river,
714
00:38:00,331 --> 00:38:03,743
our body relies on the circulatory system
715
00:38:03,743 --> 00:38:07,493
to bring nutrients to
its trillions of cells.
716
00:38:09,314 --> 00:38:12,231
But these cells also produce waste.
717
00:38:15,784 --> 00:38:19,117
In a river, sediment
settles to the bottom,
718
00:38:19,117 --> 00:38:21,141
but in our bodies, we have lymph vessels
719
00:38:21,141 --> 00:38:24,338
to collect the waste and carry
it through our bloodstream
720
00:38:24,338 --> 00:38:28,338
to places like the liver,
where it's eliminated.
721
00:38:30,937 --> 00:38:32,105
But there's one part of the body
722
00:38:32,105 --> 00:38:36,726
the lymph vessels don't go
to and that's the brain.
723
00:38:36,726 --> 00:38:39,643
So how does the brain clean itself?
724
00:38:45,780 --> 00:38:48,469
Dr. Iliff believes the answer is connected
725
00:38:48,469 --> 00:38:51,199
to the mysterious changes he observed
726
00:38:51,199 --> 00:38:54,949
taking place inside the
brain while we sleep.
727
00:38:56,674 --> 00:38:59,738
During the day, the brain
is protected by a sac
728
00:38:59,738 --> 00:39:02,738
filled with fluid that surrounds it.
729
00:39:04,471 --> 00:39:09,375
But as Dr. Iliff discovers,
at night this sac empties
730
00:39:09,375 --> 00:39:12,708
and the fluid filters through the brain.
731
00:39:14,113 --> 00:39:15,511
- [Iliff] What was happening was that
732
00:39:15,511 --> 00:39:18,960
the fluid was piggybacking,
using the structure
733
00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:23,809
of the blood vessels to get
access to the entire brain.
734
00:39:23,809 --> 00:39:26,536
- [Gardy] But it's what the
fluid does that provides
735
00:39:26,536 --> 00:39:30,703
Dr. Iliff and his team with
an extraordinary breakthrough.
736
00:39:32,741 --> 00:39:34,824
- [Iliff] The fluid that's
on the outside of the brain,
737
00:39:34,824 --> 00:39:36,248
as it flows along those blood vessels
738
00:39:36,248 --> 00:39:37,825
and through the brain tissue,
739
00:39:37,825 --> 00:39:40,211
it's doing the most amazing thing.
740
00:39:40,211 --> 00:39:42,746
It's clearing away, washing away,
741
00:39:42,746 --> 00:39:47,728
the waste particles in the
spaces between the brain's cells.
742
00:39:47,728 --> 00:39:48,609
- Wow.
743
00:39:48,609 --> 00:39:51,268
We can't multitask enough during the day,
744
00:39:51,268 --> 00:39:52,928
we have to set something aside.
745
00:39:52,928 --> 00:39:54,352
Housekeeping happens at night.
746
00:39:54,352 --> 00:39:56,809
- Yeah, it's a very
clever way to do, really,
747
00:39:56,809 --> 00:39:58,545
two things with the same structure,
748
00:39:58,545 --> 00:40:01,553
both provide nutrients
and clear away the waste.
749
00:40:01,553 --> 00:40:02,537
But it's unique.
750
00:40:02,537 --> 00:40:06,138
No other part of the body
uses a plan like this
751
00:40:06,138 --> 00:40:07,695
to do these two things.
752
00:40:07,695 --> 00:40:09,203
- It's a brains cleaning system.
753
00:40:09,203 --> 00:40:10,036
- It is.
754
00:40:10,036 --> 00:40:14,177
It's sort of like a
dishwasher for the brain.
755
00:40:14,177 --> 00:40:17,580
- But Dr. Iliff and his
team aren't done yet.
756
00:40:17,580 --> 00:40:20,396
There's still the
question of amyloid beta,
757
00:40:20,396 --> 00:40:24,081
the protein that started
them on this journey.
758
00:40:24,081 --> 00:40:26,531
Amyloid beta is one of the waste products
759
00:40:26,531 --> 00:40:28,666
produced by the brain.
760
00:40:28,666 --> 00:40:30,976
It's also the same protein that builds up
761
00:40:30,976 --> 00:40:35,143
in the brains of people suffering
from Alzheimer's disease.
762
00:40:36,167 --> 00:40:39,215
When Dr. Iliff started this research,
763
00:40:39,215 --> 00:40:42,393
he saw levels of amyloid
beta rise in the brain
764
00:40:42,393 --> 00:40:45,143
during the day and drop at night.
765
00:40:48,327 --> 00:40:49,744
Now he knows why.
766
00:40:51,277 --> 00:40:54,591
The brain is washing away
this dangerous protein
767
00:40:54,591 --> 00:40:55,841
while we sleep.
768
00:40:59,968 --> 00:41:01,976
So, circling back to the beginning,
769
00:41:01,976 --> 00:41:05,541
what does this tell you about Alzheimer's?
770
00:41:05,541 --> 00:41:08,976
- Well, it tells us that this process
771
00:41:08,976 --> 00:41:11,726
may be part of what's going wrong
772
00:41:12,690 --> 00:41:14,422
in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
773
00:41:14,422 --> 00:41:17,038
Worsening sleep quality and sleep duration
774
00:41:17,038 --> 00:41:20,750
are both associated with
worsening amyloid plaque burden,
775
00:41:20,750 --> 00:41:23,126
so more amyloid beta
building up in the brain.
776
00:41:23,126 --> 00:41:25,176
And so the failure of the brain to sort of
777
00:41:25,176 --> 00:41:28,036
keep its house clean and
clear away these things
778
00:41:28,036 --> 00:41:30,519
that it needs to be
clearing away during sleep
779
00:41:30,519 --> 00:41:31,848
may actually be setting the stage
780
00:41:31,848 --> 00:41:36,015
for the development of diseases
like Alzheimer's disease.
781
00:41:39,105 --> 00:41:41,653
- [Gardy] For the first
time, we're realizing
782
00:41:41,653 --> 00:41:44,494
that our sleeping brain is the foundation
783
00:41:44,494 --> 00:41:46,744
of almost everything we do.
784
00:41:48,549 --> 00:41:50,795
- I think sleep is fundamental to life.
785
00:41:50,795 --> 00:41:53,304
We're recognizing the importance of sleep
786
00:41:53,304 --> 00:41:55,062
for our whole body.
787
00:41:55,062 --> 00:41:57,145
Sleep effects everything.
788
00:41:58,362 --> 00:42:01,071
- I think that the occurrence
of what happens during sleep
789
00:42:01,071 --> 00:42:04,953
permits what happens in the waking brain
790
00:42:04,953 --> 00:42:08,324
and that you could not
have all of the magic
791
00:42:08,324 --> 00:42:10,656
of the waking brain
without all of the mystery
792
00:42:10,656 --> 00:42:12,489
of the sleeping brain.
793
00:42:14,149 --> 00:42:18,316
- We create the meaning of
our lives while we sleep.
794
00:42:19,493 --> 00:42:21,326
And that's phenomenal.
795
00:42:33,407 --> 00:42:36,324
(electronic music)
796
00:43:26,747 --> 00:43:28,061
(thwack)
797
00:43:28,061 --> 00:43:30,311
(applause)
58511
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.