Aleks Krotoski explores what technology tells us about ourselves and the age we live in. We might want to drown it out in light, but as Aleks discovers, darkness can be good for us.
We might want to drown it out in light, but, as Aleks Krotoski discovers, darkness can be good for us. Electric light tampers with our circadian rhythms. Now we can light up any part of the day, our body isn't shutting off to sleep as easily as it once did. Aleks discovers the way that technology is starting to recognise this on both a personal level and a societal level.
Produced by Victoria McArthur.
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Frost at Midnight by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Duration: 04:24
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How long would you sleep without light?
Duration: 01:13
Music Played
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Walls
Gaberdine (Nathan Fake Ambient Mix)
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Burial
Shell of Light
- Untrue.
- Domino.
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Jan Hammer Project
Don't You Know
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Elliott Smith
Angeles
- Either/Or.
- Domino.
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MDH Band
Satellite of Love (Reprise)
- Music From The Motion Picture: The Million Dollar Hotel.
- Virgin.
Christian B. Luginbuhl
Christian Luginbuhl is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, and one of the original founders of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition. He tells us why we still need dark skies in the digital age.
Kenneth P Wright
Dr. Wright is a behavioral neuroscientist/psychologist University of Colorado at Boulder whose research interests include understanding the physiology of the human circadian pacemaker. He tells us about a study he conducted that shows how quickly we can recover our normal sleep cycles when we get back to nature.
Kirstie Anderson
Dr Anderson is a Consultant Neurologist and is one of the foremost sleep neurologists in the UK. She explains how the human sleep cycle works, and how the disruption of that rhythm can adversely affect us.
Simon Bainbridge
Kirk Watson
Kirk Watson is a filmmaker and mountain instructor based in Aviemore. He directed βSouth of Sanityβ, which was the first feature film ever set in Antartica. His website is:
Michael and Lorna Herf
Michael and Lorna Herf are the developers of F.lux, a computer programme that adjusts the lights of computer screens as the day progresses. Michael tells us how they came up with the app, and how it could help users to sleep better.
Broadcasts
- Mon 4 Nov 2013 16:30ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Tue 29 Sep 2015 23:30ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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The Digital Human
Aleks Krotoski explores the digital world
