Most of us spend about a third of our lives asleep. We feel the effects of a bad night of sleep, waking up groggy and turning to caffeine to get through the day. While we might think that our sleep habits have a strong influence on brain health, the evidence is not so clear.There is a lot of advice out there on how to get a good night’s sleep, as well as reports about the consequences of poor sleep. But sleep doesn’t look the same for everyone: age, sex, gender, and culturecould influence sleep patterns.Why do we sleep? What does “good sleep” mean for different people? And how does sleep affect brain health?In this episode, we interviewed Professor Anders Fjell, sleep expert and Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Oslo to answer these questions.This episode is the second of our neuroscience series, produced by PhD student Chloe Carrick, Youth Advisor Anushka De, and Research Fellow Dr. Kathryn Bates. Click the subscribe button on this page to get the episodes straight to your inbox – we’d love to hear what you think!Resources* Read more about the work of the Lifespan Centre for Brain and Cognition, co-lead by Professor Anders Fjell and Professor Kristine Walhovd* Read the article on the cultural differences in association between sleep duration and health: here* Theories for why we sleep, age differences in sleep patterns, and the association between sleep and brain health are discussed further in this review article, co-authored by Anders and Kristine* Read about the survey on public perceptions of the role of sleep in brain health hereWhat you’ll find in this episode* 04:20 - Theories and evidence for why we sleep* 07.45 – Different sleep stages* 09.55 – Why are there individual differences in sleep?* 14:20 – The relationship between sleep duration and health differs across countries* 17:55 – The importance of sleep for brain health: Public perceptions vs. research evidence* 20:05 – Why do we feel so bad when we don’t sleep?* 24:15 – There is no universal guideline for optimal sleep durationThe views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or The Science or Fiction Podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.scienceorfiction.co.uk

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