We visited the Sleep Laboratory at the Centre for Human Brain Health at the University of Birmingham, where they are conducting a study on how sleep supports brain and cognitive health as we age.
Charmaine Diep, the senior researcher, explained the different stages of sleep, how those stages progress and sequence during the sleeping period, and the hypothesis that the "slow wave" (deep sleep) stage is responsible for clearing out the amyloid protein that is associated with dementia. She also gave advice on improving our sleep.
Charmaine told us that they are looking for volunteers to undergo measurements whilst asleep at the Centre, and invited us to view their "laboratory" - actually two small rooms, each with a bed and equipment, where the volunteers sleep whilst their sleep states are monitored. For their project, the volunteers must be between 40 and 70 years old, so ruling out many of our Group members.
After lunching at nearby Winterbourne House, we were lucky to find an enthusiastic volunteer who showed us the Victorian printing presses that are kept there, and then we enjoyed a walk around their university botanical gardens.