Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

People who slept less than six hours a night were 4.2 times more likely to catch a cold when exposed to the virus than those who slept more than seven hours. This was true even after the researchers controlled for other factors like stress, personality, and whether people smoked.

Radiolab

Your Friendly Neighborhood Hookworms

For most of human history, people were infected with a variety of intestinal worms. The idea, called the 'old friends' hypothesis, is that our immune systems evolved to expect these parasites — and without them, the immune system becomes dysregulated, attacking the body itself or overreacting to harmless substances like pollen or peanuts.

Radiolab

Your Friendly Neighborhood Hookworms

But is it possible to have… too few worms? Science wonders if deworming ourselves has actually led to an increase in certain chronic diseases.