The Sleep Lab | University of Essex

About the lab

Sleep occupies a third of our life and is an integral part of our physical and mental health. As sleep problems become more and more common worldwide, the Essex Sleep Lab works to understand the important role of sleep and develops new ways to address this global health issue.

The Essex Sleep lab is interdisciplinary and exists across two facilities: in our Centre for Brain Science, the Sleep Pod can be used to run exciting sleep experiments, while the iSpace is a dedicated living space housed in the School for Computer Science and Electronic Engineering (CSEE) at the University of Essex.

The Essex Sleep Lab includes the Sleep Pod which is equipped for fully controlled sleep experiments involving behavioural paradigms, high-density brain recordings and various non-invasive brain stimulation modalities. For example, researchers are investigating how sleep promotes the consolidation of episodic and motor related facets of sign language, an essential form of communication for the deaf community and people suffering from sensory impairment. Researchers are also investigating how eye movements during both wakefulness and sleep interact to influence the strength of highly emotional memories.

The Essex Sleep Lab is further equipped with wearables to perform research in a home setting, which complements the on-site facilities by providing access to unique ecological and longitudinal sleep data. For example, participants in Sleep Lab studies may wear headbands that record brain activity (ZMax Pro) and/or MotionWatches that record movement data, both providing further insights into what is happening while we are sleeping.

The iSpace lab features a bedroom with a state-of-the-art polysomnography system, a bathroom, open-space kitchen and office space for sleep researchers and enables both daytime napping and overnight sleep research studies. The facility is used by staff and students in Psychology and CSEE who are interested in sleep and circadian rhythms.

All facilities are used by staff and students in Psychology and CSEE who are interested in sleep and circadian rhythms.