WAUSAU – Experts agree – everyone needs a good night’s sleep to be happy and healthy. Americans are getting less and less sleep, and our health is suffering for it. But what can our sleep patterns tell us about our overall health, and how can we use that data to live a better life? 

At 10 a.m. today, Nov. 13, Wisconsin Public Radio’s Shereen Siewert welcomes Tonda Nicholson, a  polysomnographic technologist from Aspirus Health Care, for an in-depth look at the science of sleep, from what happens to our brains when we dream to the physical effects of sleep disorders and how they are identified. 

“Route 51” is heard Fridays at 10 a.m. on The Ideas Network stations 101.3 & 91.9/Wausau, AM 930/Auburndale-Stevens Point, 99.1/Stevens Point, 100.9/Marshfield, 90.3/Park Falls, 89.1/Adams-Wisconsin Rapids, and 89.9/Rhinelander-Eagle River. It is re-broadcast Fridays at 7 p.m. on 90.9/Wausau. Program archives are available at wpr.org/route51