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SLEEP DISORDERS

Sleep disorders put populations at greater risk for a number of chronic diseases and mental health disorders, as well as challenges to daily life and relationships

The Science of Sleep: Melatonin to Neural Pathways
52:36
The Royal Institution

The Science of Sleep: Melatonin to Neural Pathways

Russell Foster, Debra Skene and Stafford Lightman discuss the science of sleep. Why do we need sleep and what are the physiological processes driving our circadian rhythm? When is our circadian clock disrupted and how does this affect our health? Cognitive neuroscientist Vincent Walsh chairs the debate. Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe The science behind sleeplessness can help us understand our rhythms so we can live better and healthier lives. While hormones, such a melatonin, play a role in driving our circadian clock, the amount of sleep we get and our sleep cycles also affect our hormonal release patterns, with far-reaching implications on our health. Cognitive neuroscientist Vincent Walsh chairs a discussion with a panel of experts who specialise in circadian rhythms. They explore how light detection plays a role in our sleep-wake cycles, how hormone release is regulated and the implications of changes to our circadian clock and sleeplessness over time. This event was supported by British Psychological Society and Society for Endocrinology. Russell Foster is Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. The research interests of his group range across visual neuroscience, circadian rhythms and sleep. You can buy his book "The Rhythms Of Life" now - https://geni.us/N1AjGJx Debra Skene is Professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Surrey. She leads the research group 'Sleep, Chronobiology and Addiction' and her research focusses on links between human circadian clocks, sleep and metabolism in health, circadian disorders and metabolic diseases. Stafford Lightman is Professor of Medicine at Bristol University. Researching the mechanisms of stress-related disease, his research has particularly looked at how neuroendocrine rhythms signal to other tissues in the body. The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.
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