Survival of the Fittest (or just the most rested)

We all know sleep is a vital part of human function, yet we don’t know what exactly happens when we sleep and what makes it so important, other than an overall restorative process.
What’s worse – driving drunk or sleep deprived? Professor Williams explores this, and describes how lack of sleep could even meaningfully affect weight gain.

Professor Williams has had a long interest in Sleep Medicine dating back to research into the sudden infant death syndrome conducted at Harvard University. Subsequently he was appointed at UCLA and developed what was to become the largest sleep service within the Veterans Administration while at the same time co-directing the UCLA Sleep Disorders Centre. He was one of the early clinicians boarded in Sleep Medicine and has published widely in that field including early contributions recognising that systemic hypertension could in part be related to obstructive sleep apnoea.

In the UK he has helped develop the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Sleep Disorders Centre into the most active in the U.K. He is a founding member of the Sleep Section of the Royal Society of Medicine, is one of Europe’s few recognised Somnologists, as well as having been awarded the UK’s first Chair in Sleep Medicine.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx