North & South – June 2019

OPINION

nerd nation by jenny nicholls

NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019| 83

Alexisanotherwisesaneyoungman,

andhisexperiencesarethestuffofbar-

roomlegendforhisfriends.Theyalsotell

ussomethinginterestingaboutwhatthe

braindoes– oris supposedtodo– when

it sleeps.ThepartofAlex’sbrainthatreg-

ulatesmovementandemotionscanbe

awake,whilethepartsthatregulate

memory,consciousnessandrational

thoughtareasleep.Withoutthese,hebe-

lieveshisirrationaldreams– likethetiny,

toe-nibblinggazelles.Andwithoutthe

normalparalysisofhismusclesinsleep,

heactsthemoutphysically.

“Weusedtothinkofsleepasbeingan

‘on’ or ‘off ’ brain state: either you are

ALEX,ALONDONcharityworker,is
anamiableyoungmaninhis20s.He
has“sleepwalked”sincechildhood–
althoughthewordseemswhollyinad-
equatetodescribethebaroquevariety
ofhislate-nightantics.Somearefunny
butinnocuous,likethetimehisflatmate
woketofindAlexsittingattheendof
hisbedusinga shoeasa telephoneto
ordera pizza.Andtherewasthenight
hestoodonhisdesk,shoutingthattiny
gazelleswereeatinghisfeet.
ButsometimesAlex’s“sleepwalking”
ismoreworrying.Hehasclimbed,na-
ked,imperiousandunwakeable,intoa
friend’s bed at night. He has broken into

Bedtime Reading

Tales from sleep’s wild frontier

“TWOOFHISfriendsweresleepingonthefloorand(whileasleepanddreaming)hebelievedthattherotarybladesofa helicopter
werebreakingoffwhiletheywerespinning,andflyingathim,sohewasdodginganddiving.Andasthefinalonecameathim,he
swan-divedintowhathethoughtwasgrassbutwasactuallyhistwofriendson their mattress. They were woken up at 4am by quite
a large Alex landing on them saying, ‘Oh God, did you see that helicopter?’”

a neighbour’shouseinhisunderwear,

andscaledhighwindowledges.And

therewasthetimehebrokea finger

crashingintoa cupboardhethought

wasa drowninggirl.

Alexisfortunateenoughtobea

patientofDrGuyLeschziner,a com-

passionateEnglishneurologistand

sleepphysicianwhosebookTheNoc-

turnalBrain(Simon&Schuster,$38)

usescasehistoriessuchashistocast

lightonthetwilightworldofsleep-

walking,insomnia,narcolepsy,night

terrorsandothersleepingdisorders.

Whatcausesthem?Andwhatdothey

tell us about the human brain?

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