We humans spend roughly one third of our time sleeping. For the average person this adds up to around 26 years over our lifetimes. And though to the outside observer it may seem that there’s little going on, several processes are being carried out by our bodies and brains that are vital for our health and wellbeing.

In this episode, part of our four-part Better Sleep miniseries, we speak to Dr Alessio Delogu, a neurobiologist based at King’s College, London, about the intimate link between sleep our memory.

He tells how memories are encoded in our brains during sleep, how sleep deprivation hampers our ability to learn new skills, and shares some tips to help us keep our memory systems working in tiptop condition.

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