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I filmed myself sleeping for 7 nights – I have problems


By - Richard - 18th February 2024

We do some weird things when we’re asleep. One third of our lives is spent in this unconscious state where we’re unaware of our own actions.

I have never slept well, so I decided to film myself sleeping for seven nights to try and understand why. What I discovered makes me feel like I don’t myself anymore.

During the first night of my sleep experiment, I discover that I have not one, but two sleep disorders. How can I have lived 45 years of my life without knowing this?

I recently got two rag doll cats who you will meet in the video – Mrs Purple and Paddington. They are indoor cats and they are lovely. But this makes night times hard. I leave the cats to freely roam around my bedroom, but this inevitably disturbs my sleep. If I leave the cats outside my bedroom, they scratch at the door and this makes sleeping harder.

Over the course of seven nights, I learn all about the weird intricacies of my sleep behaviour. It would seem as if I have some very strange nocturnal behaviour, including excessive twitching, moving and changing position. The average person changes sleeping position 12 times during the night. It turns out I am far from average.

About the Author

Richard Nicholls - Managing Director

Before launching Swift Films, Richard worked as a broadcast TV director and editor, working on programmes for the BBC, ITV and Sky.

A multi-skilled and technically-minded filmmaker, Richard is equally at home coming up with creative concepts as he is on location filming or pulling footage together in the edit suite.

Richard is a member of Independent Producers Scotland and has a love of cats, football, chocolate and Film Noir (in that order).