Secrets of Sleep Science: From Dreams to Disorders
Series: The Great Courses
Lecturer: Craig H. Heller
Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
If you’re a boob and wanna feel even more like a boob—
…give this, Secrets of Sleep Science a shot.
-OR- if you have a sleep disorder, have a hard time falling asleep? This might just do the trick.
I admit it: I’m a goober and a big ol’ boob. I couldn’t wait to dive into this Great Course by The Teaching Company cuz I’m a big fan of asserting myself during the occasional times Lucid Dreams enter my sleeping brain, and I have a sleep disorder that has required treatment for the past three decades of my woeful sleep-deprived existence. I saw “Dreams” and “Disorders” in the title, and I was off like a shot to listen to this puppy!
Whoo boy!
I think you’ll find this course to be ABSOLUTELY fascinating if you are NOT looking for a Course that’s fluffy (Which, naturally, I was. I’m sooo into Fluff!). But be warned, this course will go down a whole helluva lot easier if you’ve a bit of a background with neuroanatomy.
Neurochemistry.
Neurophysiology.
Experimental Scientific Methodology.
Procedural Memory.
Declarative Memory.
Non-REM sleep v. REM sleep (WAIT! I KNOW THAT ONE!!!! … so … phew!)
There’s a great deal here that is interesting, but you’ve got to really listen closely and listen vigilantly before main concepts are addressed. Sleep and learning? Fascinating! BUT! First you have to listen to how learning occurs in the brain, the many many MANY mechanisms involved. And THEN ya add the sleep idea to it. Turns out, we learn better if we’re taught something and then have a chance for uninterrupted sleep.
Uhm, like, okay. Kinda figured that, but it’s interesting to hear what all chemistry is being buzzed for it to occur.
And by the way? That whole “uninterrupted sleep” reminds me of something else about this course.
If you’re into the warmth and fuzziness of animal companions, of animals, be prepared to hear a LOT about mice and rats and cats with electrodes pulsed into brains, of them being woken up repeatedly, of them being denied sleep for extended, VERY extended periods of time. And as ALWAYS, there’s that pioneer of sleep science, Dr. Dement(ed) who famously kept a cat up, dream-deprived, for 70 days before “adverse” effects were noted. This course doesn’t mention that particular study, but every time it DID mention Dement…ed… I kinda sorta had a knee-jerk reaction. I dunno, just me, and just sayin’.
Dreams are mentioned briefly and only insofar as they can be described as physiological reactions. And sleep disorders are barely mentioned except for sleep apnea, which actually does indeed get a big shoutout from our professor, Craig H. Heller.
Heller, by the way, is an enthusiastic lecturer, so it’s not his fault I zoned out every now and again. He knows his subject backward and forward, and is REALLY into talking about hibernation studies. Rather, I blame myself for zoning out during chemistry classes in high school where I coulda picked up SOME background in chemical reactions. What can I say? I got an A in the class, but I studied only for tests and as such can’t remember a single danged concept.
So that’s where I stand on Secrets of Sleep Science. It’s not for the fuzzy pie-in-the-sky person who thinks that dreams are made of clouds (Nooo! Think parts of the brain!), and it’s not for people who got A’s in chemistry but really shoulda flunked the coursework for all they thought about it.
This is for very intelligent people who are inquisitive and well-educated. People like my sister.
…But there’s the whole Dr. Dement… ed… thing…! So sue me!
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