August 8, 2008

Fear of Sleep

Mike Birbiglia got used to strange things happening to him when he slept—until something happened that almost killed him. This and other reasons to fear sleep, including bedbugs, "The Shining," and mild-mannered husbands who turn into maniacs while asleep.

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Transcript

Mike Birbiglia in his film Sleepwalk With Me.

Prologue

Host Ira Glass talks about his fear of sleep, and reports on other people who have very strong reasons of their own to fear bedtime. We also hear the sounds of troubled sleepers from a video put together by Doctors Carlos Schenck and Mark Mahowald of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center. (8 minutes)

Dr. Schenck's books include Sleep and Paradox Lost.

By

Ira Glass

Carlos Schenck

Act One

Stranger in the Night

Mike Birbiglia talks about the sleepwalking that nearly killed him. It's an excerpt of his one-man show "Sleepwalk with Me," which also became feature film, produced and co-written by Ira Glass. (13 minutes)

Mike's story was recorded at The Moth. The poem Ira reads is called "The Scratch," it's in Raymond Carver's collection All Of Us.

By

Mike Birbiglia

The Moth

Song:

“To Get To Sleep” by British Sea Power

Act Two

Sleep's Tiniest Enemies

Producers Nancy Updike and Robyn Semien report on critters that can kill sleep: cockroaches and bedbugs. (11 minutes)

By

Robyn Semien

Nancy Updike

Song:

“How Do You Sleep” by John Lennon

Act Three

The Bitter Fruits Of Wakefulness

Joel Lovell explains why, as an 11-year-old, he trained himself not to fall asleep, and how that had some unintended consequences. (10 minutes)

By

Joel Lovell

Act Four

Hollywood-Induced Nightmare

Seth Lind explains how he ended up watching Stanley Kubrick's The Shining when he was six years old, and how it led to two years where every night he had trouble falling asleep and nightmares. (7 minutes)

Seth is our director of operations and a creator of the sci-fi comedy podcast Mission to Zyxx.