Episodes

EpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast
RepeatedComments
01The Crossing20111024

Why do we sleep, and why do many of us find crossing the threshold of sleep so difficult?

Sleep is our shadow life: if it were a place we'd spend about a third of our life there. We are as varied and eccentric in sleep as we are in our waking lives. And we still understand very little about why we sleep, how it works and what sleep and dreams actually mean. In this series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, award winning poet and broadcaster Paul Farley goes on the long journey through a night's sleep.

We hear from Armond Aserinsky, whose father discovered REM sleep in the 1950s and poetry from across the centuries capturing the enduring mysteries of sleep. Paul also spends the night wired up at a sleep clinic to find out what happens to the brain as we cross the threshold into sleep.

This series blends theories of treatment and cause with the surreal, the supernatural and fantastic; the eerie recording of sleep talkers and testimony of sleep walkers with poetry from Sylvia Plath, WH Auden, Philip Larkin and Jane Kenyon.

Presenter: Paul Farley
Producer: Jo Wheeler
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.

Why do we sleep, and why do many of us find crossing the threshold of sleep so difficult?

In a series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, Paul Farley explores sleep

01The Crossing2011102420120502 (R4)

Why do we sleep, and why do many of us find crossing the threshold of sleep so difficult?

Sleep is our shadow life: if it were a place we'd spend about a third of our life there. We are as varied and eccentric in sleep as we are in our waking lives. And we still understand very little about why we sleep, how it works and what sleep and dreams actually mean. In this series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, award winning poet and broadcaster Paul Farley goes on the long journey through a night's sleep.

We hear from Armond Aserinsky, whose father discovered REM sleep in the 1950s and poetry from across the centuries capturing the enduring mysteries of sleep. Paul also spends the night wired up at a sleep clinic to find out what happens to the brain as we cross the threshold into sleep.

This series blends theories of treatment and cause with the surreal, the supernatural and fantastic; the eerie recording of sleep talkers and testimony of sleep walkers with poetry from Sylvia Plath, WH Auden, Philip Larkin and Jane Kenyon.

Presenter: Paul Farley
Producer: Jo Wheeler
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.

Why do we sleep, and why do many of us find crossing the threshold of sleep so difficult?

In a series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, Paul Farley explores sleep

023am Eternal20111025

Paul explores the dead of night where each moment brings the insomniac closer to the first chink of light through the curtains.

Sleep is our shadow life: if it were a place we'd spend about a third of our life there. We are as varied and eccentric in sleep as we are in our waking lives. And we still understand very little about why we sleep, how it works and what sleep and dreams actually mean. In this series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, award winning poet and broadcaster Paul Farley goes on the long journey through a night's sleep.

We hear from Armond Aserinsky, whose father discovered REM sleep in the 1950s and poetry from across the centuries capturing the enduring mysteries of sleep. Paul also spends the night wired up at a sleep clinic to find out what happens to the brain as we cross the threshold into sleep.

This series blends theories of treatment and cause with the surreal, the supernatural and fantastic; the eerie recording of sleep talkers and testimony of sleep walkers with poetry from Sylvia Plath, WH Auden, Philip Larkin and Jane Kenyon.

Presenter: Paul Farley
Producer: Jo Wheeler
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.

Paul explores the dead of night.

In a series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, Paul Farley explores sleep

03In Dreams20111026

In deep sleep, where the places we go and things we see are almost unlimited, but does dream interpretation matter?

Sleep is our shadow life: if it were a place we'd spend about a third of our life there. We are as varied and eccentric in sleep as we are in our waking lives. And we still understand very little about why we sleep, how it works and what sleep and dreams actually mean. In this series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, award winning poet and broadcaster Paul Farley goes on the long journey through a night's sleep.

We hear from Armond Aserinsky, whose father discovered REM sleep in the 1950s and poetry from across the centuries capturing the enduring mysteries of sleep. Paul also spends the night wired up at a sleep clinic to find out what happens to the brain as we cross the threshold into sleep.

This series blends theories of treatment and cause with the surreal, the supernatural and fantastic; the eerie recording of sleep talkers and testimony of sleep walkers with poetry from Sylvia Plath, WH Auden, Philip Larkin and Jane Kenyon.

Presenter: Paul Farley
Producer: Jo Wheeler
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.

In deep sleep, where the places we go are unlimited - does dream interpretation matter?

In a series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, Paul Farley explores sleep

04Walking in Your Sleep20111027

Paul explores the uncanny world of sleep disorders and sleep talk.

Sleep is our shadow life: if it were a place we'd spend about a third of our life there. We are as varied and eccentric in sleep as we are in our waking lives. And we still understand very little about why we sleep, how it works and what sleep and dreams actually mean. In this series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, award winning poet and broadcaster Paul Farley goes on the long journey through a night's sleep.

We hear from Armond Aserinsky, whose father discovered REM sleep in the 1950s and poetry from across the centuries capturing the enduring mysteries of sleep. Paul also spends the night wired up at a sleep clinic to find out what happens to the brain as we cross the threshold into sleep.

This series blends theories of treatment and cause with the surreal, the supernatural and fantastic; the eerie recording of sleep talkers and testimony of sleep walkers with poetry from Sylvia Plath, WH Auden, Philip Larkin and Jane Kenyon.

Presenter: Paul Farley
Producer: Jo Wheeler
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.

Paul explores the uncanny world of sleep disorders and sleep talk.

In a series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, Paul Farley explores sleep

05The Mattressphere20111028

Beds are the places we withdraw to, away from currents of society and community.

Sleep is our shadow life: if it were a place we'd spend about a third of our life there. We are as varied and eccentric in sleep as we are in our waking lives. And we still understand very little about why we sleep, how it works and what sleep and dreams actually mean. In this series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, award winning poet and broadcaster Paul Farley goes on the long journey through a night's sleep.

We hear from Armond Aserinsky, whose father discovered REM sleep in the 1950s and poetry from across the centuries capturing the enduring mysteries of sleep. Paul also spends the night wired up at a sleep clinic to find out what happens to the brain as we cross the threshold into sleep.

This series blends theories of treatment and cause with the surreal, the supernatural and fantastic; the eerie recording of sleep talkers and testimony of sleep walkers with poetry from Sylvia Plath, WH Auden, Philip Larkin and Jane Kenyon.

Presenter: Paul Farley
Producer: Jo Wheeler
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.

Beds are the places we withdraw to, away from currents of society and community.

In a series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, Paul Farley explores sleep