Ahhh, sleep. There’s nothing better than a nice, long, uninterrupted [LOUD NOISE]. Awwgh. I can’t sleep when there’s [NOISE]. But d’ya ever notice: noise [NOISE] doesn’t wake everyone. Now scientists have a better idea why. Because sound sleepers show a certain brain rhythm when they doze, findings published in the journal Current Biology. [Thien Thanh Dang-Vu et al., http://bit.ly/cORe7D]

To study the brain waves of a good night’s sleep, scientists invited volunteers to snooze in the lab. While the subjects caught some Zs, the researchers monitored their brain activity. They then subjected the sleepers to [NOISE] or [NOISE]. And they found that those who were able to slumber straight through all the [NOISE] showed more short bursts of faster brain waves. This activity, the scientists say, is the brain’s way of blocking out the [NOISE] and the [NOISE] while you’re trying to rest.

The scientists don’t yet know of any way to boost those sleep-saving brain waves. So until then, shut the door [DOOR SHUTTING], make sure the late show’s on a timer [TV SOUND], and try to have sweet dreams.

—Karen Hopkin

[The above text is an exact transcript of this podcast.]