Over the past several decades it’s become abundantly clear that getting a good night’s sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. However, currently around one in three of us often struggle to get enough shuteye thanks to the stress and anxiety caused by our hectic lifestyles. Thankfully, help is out there in the form of cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT.

In this episode, part of our four-part Better Sleep miniseries, we speak to founder of The Insomnia Clinic, Kathryn Pinkham.

She tells us exactly what a good night’s sleep looks like, how developing a healthy sleep appetite is vital if we want to wake up feeling fresh and renewed in the morning and shares some psychological techniques we can use to help us sleep more restfully.

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How do our brains help us build up a picture of the world around us? It’s a question that has both beguiled and fascinated scientists for centuries. The latest thinking suggests that the brain acts like a scientist that builds up a database of previous observations and experiences and uses this to make sense of the world around us.

In this episode, we speak to Daniel Yon, an experimental psychologist based at Birkbeck, University of London to talk about his latest book A Trick of the Mind: How the Brain Invents Your Reality.

He tells us about the intimate link between our brains and senses, how our brains create our sense of self and make judgements about others, and how our brains come up with new theories and ideas.

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More than four in ten of us in the UK are snorers. Far from being a trivial condition, snoring can have a significant impact on our ability to sleep, our partners’ ability to sleep and our health in general.

In this episode, part of our four-part Better Sleep miniseries, we speak to Ryan Chin Taw Cheong, a consultant ear, nose and throat and sleep surgeon based at University College London Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic London.

He tells us about the many factors that can lead to us snoring, the difference between regular snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea, and why we shouldn’t be embarrassed to seek medical help if breathing problems during sleep are affecting our lives.

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Humans are enthralled by stories about murder. And the mysteries we tell these days – like in the Glass Onion films or TV shows like The Residence – often follow a blueprint set by the iconic Agatha Christie. It turns out, Christie knew a whole lot about science.

In this episode, we speak to Dr Kathryn Harkup, a chemist who writes about the science behind famous works of literature. Her newest book, V is for Venom: Agatha Christie’s Chemicals of Death, is her sequel to A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, exploring Christie’s expert use of dark chemistry.

She tells us about some of the poisons Christie used in her books – the brutal, the medicinal and the obscure – revealing Christie’s extensive chemical knowledge.

But be warned: this conversation gets quite dark. Listener discretion is advised.

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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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It’s a little-known fact that we all have two long networks of nerves that run down either side of our necks that pass signals from our brains to all of the organs in our bodies. This is known as the vagus nerve, and cutting-edge research is now uncovering how stimulating this vital part of our anatomy can help us combat a whole range of damaging health conditions.

In this episode, we speak to neurosurgeon and researcher Dr Kevin J Tracey about his latest book The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness its Healing Reflexes.

He tells us how this nerve network acts as a vital conduit for communication between our brains and organs, talks us through the exciting new therapies being developed using electronic implants that stimulate the vagus nerve, and why we’re only just scratching the surface of the therapeutic potential of this understudied part of our bodies.

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There’s little doubt that music is an integral part of what it means to be human. But how did it first arise, how did musical instruments and compositions become ever more sophisticated and why does listening to or playing music bring us so much joy?

In this episode, we speak to science writer and music producer David Darling about his latest book A Perfect Harmony: Music, Mathematics and Science.

He tells us how the oldest pitched musical instrument found so far is thought to be more than 40,000 years old, the role music has played in the evolution of human culture, and what the impact AI-generated music may have on the work of human musicians and composers in the near future.

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The shocking fact is that alcohol is responsible for around three times more deaths globally than any other drug combined, save for tobacco. However, many of us still consume it. So how have we reached this point, and why is alcohol consumption still so deeply ingrained in human culture?

In this episode, we speak to Professor David Nutt about the history of alcohol use and the many and varied effects it has on our health, lives and wellbeing.

He tells us exactly what alcohol does to our bodies and brains, why some of us find it so difficult to stop drinking once we’ve started, and why education is vital if we are to limit the damage alcohol causes to public health.

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 Studies show that around one in three of us aren't getting enough sleep, and this is having a huge impact on our ability to perform at our best, both at work and in our home lives. If you're someone who often wakes up in the morning feeling out of sorts, why not tune into the Instant Genius Better Sleep miniseries brought to you from the team behind BBC Science Focus.

It's still the same show with the same great guests. We'll just be spending a little extra time to go deeper into how to sleep more soundly and how to reap the many health benefits that this brings. This four part special series will feature interviews with leading researchers to give you everything you need to know to get a better night's sleep.

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It’s now been more than 50 years since any human being has set foot on the Moon, but the ambition to do so again has been gathering pace over the last decade or so. But some scientists and researchers are looking further ahead and planning to establish a human presence on distant planets such as Mars.

In this episode, we speak to physicist and director of the Foundation for Space Development Africa Dr Adriana Marais about her book Out of This World and Into the Next: Notes from a Physicist on Space Exploration.

She tells us what plans to establish a Moon base in the coming years can teach us about living on other planets, how we’ll select the crew to take on this bold journey, and how the technology being developed can help us to live more economically and environmentally here on Earth.

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