The Science of Sleep

Catalog description

Where do dreams come from? Why are our muscles paralyzed for 25% of the night? Why do night-shift workers have higher rates of cancer? How do sleep disorders occur in some communities more than others? We spend roughly one-third of our lives asleep, yet sleep remains one of the most mysterious aspects of human experience. This course explores sleep from multiple perspectives: the neuroscience of how sleep is generated and regulated, the psychology of why sleep matters for cognition and emotion, and the sociology of how culture, history, and social structures shape who sleeps well and who doesn’t. Sleep is not merely an individual behavior—it is profoundly influenced by economic conditions, cultural beliefs, physical environments, and historical reverberations, making it both a personal experience and a matter of public health and social justice. We will examine what happens when sleep goes wrong, from insomnia to narcolepsy, and learn to critically evaluate the flood of sleep advice and products in today’s marketplace. Throughout the semester, you will also turn the lens on yourself, tracking your own sleep and conducting a personal experiment to connect course concepts to lived experience.