Terra Xplore - Your body, your limits? - Gain time by sleeping less?
Need less sleep? The idea is tempting. But lack of sleep and sleep disorders can even be life-threatening, as biologist Jasmina Neudecker finds out in a self-experiment: What does 36 hours of sleeplessness do to her?
On average, we oversleep 24 years of our lives. Wouldn't it be brilliant to utilise this time? Why does our body force us to sleep? What happens if we don't? Biologist Jasmina Neudecker goes in search of clues for "Terra Xplore". Together with three test subjects, she takes part in a 36-hour awake experiment, supervised by Munich sleep researcher and physician Sebastian Herberger. Will they manage to stay awake for 36 hours? If so, what mental state will they be in? To find out, the four participants in the experiment undergo various concentration tests in the sleep laboratory beforehand. To find out what happens in our bodies during sleep, Jasmina travelled to the Biotechnology Centre at TU Dresden. There, the researchers are on the trail of the secret of sleep with the help of the nematode C. elegans. Their realisation: too little sleep is actually dangerous and can even promote dementia.
Broadcasting on 02nd of June 2024 at 06.30pm on ZDF
Music: POPVIRUS Library.