Dr Jackson centered his talk around 3 questions: Why do we need to sleep? What are the consequences of fatigue? How can we improve our quality of sleep?
With a series of clear slides we learnt that we need sleep to allow the body to regenerate itself, to reproduce cells and allow time for the brain to reorganize thoughts and emotions gathered from the day before. We were told that our sleep consists of a series of stages - from light (stages 1 and 2) sleep through to deep sleep (stages 3 and 4 - the 'good stuff' - which if we are ever woken from abruptly makes us feel particularly groggy- a familiar feeling for us all!), and a fifth stage, known as REM sleep (when we dream).
In terms of the effects of fatigue, Dr Jackson used video footage to illustrate the potentially fatal consequences of not having sufficient sleep. We saw 2 videos of drivers (one a lorry driver on the M25 and the other in a simulated mini) each struggling to control their vehicle as an ever increasing number of micro-sleeps ( as seen on many a tube train in the morning..) led to loss of consciousness and then collision.
In learning about circadian rhythms we found out the true reason why teenagers like to stay up late and cannot face an early rise! But Dr Jackson's message was very clear: that to underestimate the importance of a good night's sleep is to risk impaired performance in all areas of life and suffer from poor mood and possibly depression as well.
For those insomniacs among us we were advised to avoid caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and using of electronic devices too close to going to bed. Instead, Dr Jackson advised gentle exercise before bed and to write a 'to-do' list of anything pressing that needs doing the next day.
In a culture which has such an ambivalent attitude toward sleep; in which Facebook, Twitter and so on can have such a large and invasive influence on our habits, Dr Jackson's lecture was highly relevant and informative. We are very grateful to him for giving up his precious time to talk to us.