Philosophers have diligently examined consciousness, but what do they have to say about our nightly loss of consciousness? In an age of mindfulness, is there something to be said for sleepfulness too? And for those of us still rubbing our eyes at 4am, what is it that keeps us awake in the wee small hours?  With apparently two-thirds of Britons suffering from sleep problems, this Forum event promises to be your wake-up call, exploring the science, philosophy and literature of sleep. 

Marina Benjamin (@marinab52) is an author and Senior Editor at Aeon.

Russell Foster is Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, Director, Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Head of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute.

Simon Morgan Wortham is Professor in Humanities, Kingston University London.

Shahidha Bari (@ShahidhaBari) is a Fellow at The Forum and Senior Lecturer in Romanticism in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London.

The Forum for European Philosophy (@ForumPhilosophy) is an educational charity that organises a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK. 

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEForum

Podcast 

A podcast of this event is available to download from Sleep.

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.