Partial sleep loss, known as sleep restriction, makes it difficult to think clearly, and can make driving a car or operating machinery dangerous. In this video clip, watch firsthand as two scientists test their wits following a terrible night's sleep.

How do animals fall asleep, where, and why? Once they're asleep how long do they stay asleep for? What goes on in their sleeping brains and bodies? And do they dream? Using cutting edge hidden infra-red cameras and thermal imaging technology, this film explores the unknown world of animals' sleep time. Filmed at Bristol Zoo, one of the oldest in the world, the program moves from day to night through to dawn, following the key moments as animals reach...

Why do dreams occur? What is their function? What do they mean? This provocative program looks at the facts and examines the theories, from Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams to today's neuroscience laboratory findings. The program visits a sleep research lab to explain REM sleep; another lab where researchers are using positron emission tomography (PET scanning) to explore the dreaming brain; and a therapy session where a patient describes a recurring...

Even though many experts recommend eight hours of sleep a night, getting that much rest often seems impossible. This program offers ten scientific ways to get quality sleep, and more of it. These techniques include sleep restriction programs for people with insomnia, explained by Professor Colin Espie of the University of Glasgow's Sleep Centre; fasting to beat jet lag, presented by Harvard's Dr. Patrick Fuller; and simple, full-body relaxation techniques,...

Over 40 million American adults suffer each year from a variety of chronic sleep problems, prompting extensive research into sleep patterns and potential obstacles to healthy sleep. This program explores sleep disorders, how they are diagnosed, and how they can be easily managed or treated. Viewers will learn how various disorders are usually classified into three major categories: lack of sleep, or insomnia; disturbed sleep, such as obstructive sleep...

An inability to sleep is far more than a nuisance-it's a genuine health problem. This program examines insomnia from a medical perspective, exploring the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of the disorder. Interviews with doctors who specialize in treating sleep difficulties provide historical background on the affliction, the personal and professional hazards it can present, and dietary and behavioral adjustments that can improve the...

A morning jog or hitting the gym is often recommended by doctors to help with insomnia and to get a better night's sleep. But will an hour of exercise today really help you sleep tonight? Find out what psychologists are learning about the real impact of hitting the gym on sleep.

Most humans need eight hours of sleep every night, but researches have found that about five percent of the population does well with only six hours a night. This ABC News report examines the study on human genetics that reveals the presence of a "short sleeper" gene. This may lead to the development of medications that allow most people to sleep less without a loss of productivity.

The average adult spends more than 220,000 hours - or roughly 25 years - in bed sleeping. That's one-third of your life spent in slumber! But what exactly is sleep? Why do you spend so much of your time doing it? And what happens to your brain and body if you don't get a full night's rest? In what could be our most ambitious Brain Games experiment ever, we keep three volunteers awake for 36 hours in order to test the effects of sleep deprivation on...

Some people wander, get dressed, even eat in their sleep. Others lash out in violent ways. Is it possible that people can commit complex crimes-even murder-while walking in their sleep? With only a dead victim and a seemingly disoriented suspect at the scene of the crime, it's hard to know for sure. This program explores the question, following extensive sleep tests performed on accused murderers in a quest for truth and scientific clarity. But even...