Airing TONIGHT on PBS - NOVA: What Are Dreams?

NOVA: What Are Dreams? airs on PBS stations in the US tonight, Tuesday, November 24. This is a terrific documentary on dreams, packed with specifics on the science of sleep. If you've ever wondered about sleepwalking, why we dream, or why sleep is necessary, this is the documentary for you! Note: after the air date, the entire program will be available for streaming for one full week on the Nova: What Are Dreams website.

I'm a big fan of NOVA, the science program aired on PBS stations in the US. I recently got an advance look at tonight's program, What Are Dreams?, and I think it's awesome. It's very reminiscent of a Radiolab episode on dreams from 2007 (you may remember it as the "dreaming about Tetris" episode), as the NOVA team interviews many of the same scientists, though they are further along in their research at this point. The difference is that this is NOVA, so you get to see scientists in the lab, as well as bizarre video of people sleepwalking, video of rats running mazes, and so on. This adds a new dimension that the Radiolab program lacked (although the Radiolab episode is very much worth listening to -- it's a classic.)

Discussed in this NOVA program: REM sleep and "NREM" sleep; how people waking up from different stages of sleep feel about themselves (hint: waking up from REM makes you feel like you're a pretty crappy person!); how REM/NREM sleep ratios may affect depression (!); REM Sleep Disorder -- a frightening brain disorder in which your body is not paralyzed during dreams, so you act them out; the (surprisingly brief/recent) history of sleep research; how sleep studies work (electrodes all over your head!); dreaming about videogames; how "sleeping on a problem" actually improves performance the next day; and how rats dream about running through mazes.

Here's a trailer:

Remember, it airs TONIGHT, Tuesday, November 24, on PBS stations in the US. Check your local listings for the time, though is most markets it's at 8pm.