Skip to main content
Back to Show
NOVA

Mysteries of Sleep Preview

From fruit flies to whales, virtually every animal sleeps. But why? Why do we need to spend nearly a third of our lives in such a defenseless state? Scientists are peering more deeply into the sleeping brain than ever before, discovering just how powerful sleep can be, playing a role in everything from memory retention and emotional regulation to removing waste from our brains.

Support Provided By
Season
A.I. Revolution
53:30
Explore the promise and perils of new A.I. technologies.
NOVA Season 51
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:10
Follow the quest to recover DNA millions of years old for the very first time.
Building the Eiffel Tower
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:29
Explore the engineering behind Paris’s iconic landmark, the tallest structure of its time.
Easter Island Origins
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:17
New evidence reveals the real story of Easter Island and the builders of its stone heads.
When Whales Could Walk
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:31
Giant fossils uncovered in the Sahara Desert reveal new secrets of how whales evolved.
Lee and Liza's Family Tree
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:31
A family turns to science in their struggle to rediscover a history obscured by slavery.
The Battle to Beat Malaria
53:54
Follow the quest to create a lifesaving malaria vaccine.
Inside China's Tech Boom
53:19
The inside story of China’s meteoric rise to the forefront of global innovation.
Ancient Earth: Humans
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:15
How did Earth give rise to humans? See what made our species' existence possible.
Ancient Earth: Inferno
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:45
How did life bounce back after a cataclysmic extinction wiped out some 90% of all species?
Ancient Earth: Life Rising
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:47
See how life made the leap to land, turning a barren landscape into a lush, green world.
Ancient Earth: Frozen
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:46
How did life survive on a planet covered in ice from pole to pole?
Active loading indicator