Barbican to host The Physiological Society’s Sleep Conference

The Barbican will host The Physiological Society’s “Sleep and Circadian Rhythms from Mechanisms to Function” Conference this week, which includes a free public lecture on the importance of sleep.

As part of the Society’s focus on the importance of sleep and the fact it is vital to human survival, the conference will include a free lecture for members of the public titled Sound Asleep: Turning the Science of Sleep into Music.  The public event will take place on Wednesday 5 December from 6-7pm.  Attendees will hear what the neuroscience of falling asleep sounds like as they join composer and guitarist Milton Mermikides and Oxford Professor Morten Kringelbach – an expert in the neuroscience of pleasure – as they explore the musical qualities of sleep. The dialogue will cover the science of sleep and its parallels with musical composition.

The wider two-day conference taking place on 5 and 6 December will be part of The Physiological Society’s Year of Sleep and Chronobiology.  Mary Arbuthnot, Digital Content Officer for The Physiological Society, said: “Sleep is a unique field bringing together many specialities; this meeting will also focus on encouraging early career scientists from all disciplines to come together and solve the many questions that remain in sleep science.”

Jackie Boughton, Head of Barbican Business Events added: “According to The Physiological Society, it is estimated that 200,000 working days are lost each year in the UK due to sleep deprivation. If individuals who sleep less than six hours a night started sleeping six to seven hours this could add $29.9 billion to the UK economy.  We are excited to be hosting such an important conference, whilst the use of music in the public lecture is the perfect demonstration of the way the Barbican blends the arts with our commercial offering to create truly unique events.”

Tickets for the public event are available via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sound-asleep-turning-the-science-of-sleep-into-music-tickets-52346390463