--- title: British Composer Explains Why He Composed an 8-Hour Lullaby description: Max Richter's album "Sleep" released on Friday. canonical: https://time.com/4022816/max-richter-sleep/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-04T18:31:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:55.818Z article:section: Science og:title: Why a British Composer Hopes His Album Will Put You to Sleep og:description: Max Richter worked with a neuroscientist in developing his 8-hour piece. og:url: https://time.com/4022816/max-richter-sleep/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02bca79e76868d6d/69886253ab6d779c196a6086/max_richter_photo_by_mike_terry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Max_Richter_Photo_by_Mike_Terry og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why a British Composer Hopes His Album Will Put You to Sleep twitter:description: Max Richter worked with a neuroscientist in developing his 8-hour piece. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02bca79e76868d6d/69886253ab6d779c196a6086/max_richter_photo_by_mike_terry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:25 video:published: 2015-05-15 section: health topics: sleep duration, sleep deprivation, cognitive performance, memory and attention, driving safety, heart disease risk, diabetes risk, weekend sleep, evening screen time, sleep habits genre: explainer, health feature tones: informative, skeptical, practical, conversational emotions: curiosity (medium), concern (low), reassurance (low) sentiment: neutral audience: general adult audience, health-conscious viewers, people who struggle to get enough sleep, parents and busy professionals people: Robert Davis organizations: Everwell content_suitability: health controversy [01:34-01:55] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # That New 8-Hour Sleep Album—Explained > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=ed5488b2-6414-48ec-ba8a-a5ed9761521c&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Do You Really Need 8 Hours of Sleep? [Watch (HLS stream): Do You Really Need 8 Hours of Sleep?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o0FTMkL0.m3u8) (2:25)  _Published 2015-05-15. Do You Really Need 8 Hours of Sleep?_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video examines whether adults really need eight hours of sleep, presenting research on how sleep duration affects attention, memory, driving safety and long-term health. It notes that individuals vary in how much sleep they need and that people often overestimate their own alertness when sleep deprived. It concludes that consistently getting seven or eight hours a night is the best approach and offers tips such as turning off screens earlier in the evening. ## Key points - Routinely sleeping less than seven hours a night leads to reduced attention, concentration, and memory in most people, according to research. (00:52) - Individuals vary widely in how sleep loss affects them, so getting six hours can severely impact some people and barely affect others. (01:05) - Sleep-deprived people often overestimate their alertness on tasks like driving. (01:24) - Studies overall have linked less than six hours of sleep a night with increased risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity, and premature death. (01:34) - Getting nine or more hours a night is also associated with these health risks, but it is unclear whether long sleep causes the problems or results from them. (01:45) - There is no evidence that sleeping in on weekends is harmful, and it may partly make up for lost sleep during the week. (01:55) - The best approach is to consistently get seven or eight hours of sleep a night. (02:01) - Turning off the TV and shutting down the computer earlier each evening could help people get more sleep. (02:09) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:19] Introducing the sleep question. The host opens by describing the effects of not getting eight hours of sleep, such as tiredness and poor decision-making. - [00:19 to 00:52] Sleep as an ideal few meet. The video compares sleep to weight and says that losing a little sleep is not a major concern, while losing a lot is a problem. - [00:52 to 01:24] Effects on attention and driving. Research links routine short sleep to reduced attention, memory and increased car accident risk, with individual variation and overestimated alertness. - [01:24 to 01:55] Health risks of too little and too much sleep. Less than six hours and nine or more hours are both associated with health risks, with unclear causation, and weekend sleep-ins are not shown to be harmful. - [01:55 to 02:25] Practical advice for more sleep. The video recommends consistently getting seven or eight hours and suggests reducing evening screen time to achieve it. ## Key quotes - [01:24] Robert Davis: "Studies amongst sleep deprived people show that they often overestimate their alertness on tasks like driving." - [01:55] Robert Davis: "There's no evidence that sleeping in on weekends is harmful, and it may help make up for lost sleep during the week, but not entirely." - [02:01] Robert Davis: "Your best bet is to consistently get seven or eight hours a night." - [02:09] Robert Davis: "Try turning off that TV and shutting down your computer a little earlier every evening." ## Questions this video answers - How much sleep do people need? [00:19] - Is getting less than eight hours of sleep a night really bad for you? [00:44] - How does routinely short sleep affect attention and memory? [00:52] - Are the health risks linked to sleeping too much or too little? [01:34] - Does sleeping in on weekends harm your health? [01:55] - How can you get more sleep each night? [02:09] ## Content suitability - health controversy [01:34-01:55]: Discusses associations between very short or very long sleep and serious conditions including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and premature death.  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Sep 4, 2015 6:31 PM UTC  Max Richter has composed an 8-hour album devoted entirely to sleep. Max Richter has composed an 8-hour album devoted entirely to sleep. Mike Terry  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Sep 4, 2015 6:31 PM UTC British composer Max Richter hopes you are snoring before you finish his latest release. _Sleep,_ an 8-hour classical piece released Friday, features gentle strings and peaceful piano. He has called it a “personal lullaby for a frenetic world. A manifesto for a slower pace of existence.” Richter says sleep is an integral part of his creative process. “Sleeping has always been one of my favorite activities,” Richter told TIME. He’s also aware that most of us aren’t getting enough of it. Recent research shows that [high school students](http://time.com/3987375/sleep-school/), [air traffic controllers](http://time.com/?p=3991118) and even [surgeons](http://time.com/4012840/doctors-on-life-support/) are suffering from dangerous levels of sleep deprivation. Meanwhile, sales have skyrocketed for children’s book [_The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep_](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rabbit-Who-Wants-Fall-Asleep/dp/149617951X/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439564474&sr=1-1&keywords=the+rabbit+who+wants+to+fall+asleep), written by a Swedish behavioral psychologist who [uses reinforcement techniques in the book to calm children into drifting off](http://time.com/4003405/amazons-book-sleep-kids/). **Read more**: [_The Power of Sleep_](http://time.com/3326565/the-power-of-sleep/) Richter, whose haunting style has made him a popular soundtrack composer for shows like HBO’s _The Leftovers_ and movies like the thriller _Shutter Island_, consulted with author and Baylor College neuroscientist [David Eagleman](http://www.eagleman.com/) in developing his composition_._ He composed the piece over the course of two years but wasn’t initially aiming to try to get people to fall asleep so much as slow down. (He’s simultaneously released a one-hour, condensed version of _Sleep_ meant for daydreamers.) Sleep deprivation is a thoroughly studied subject, but music’s role in promoting sleep has mostly focused on children. Could a lullaby for grownups actually work? In 2014, an album released in collaboration the British Academy of Sound Therapy purported to include “[the most relaxing song ever](http://youtu.be/L1TEpby279g),” a track titled “Weightless.” The song was able to drop heart rates by 35% in 40 women more than Mozart and Coldplay—but whether or not it promoted sleep was not part of the study. Richter is not looking for scientific proof that it works, per se. “Brain scans are interesting and all that,” he says. “But we’re overloaded with data. I see this project as a big pause button.” Richter will put on the first of a series of live performances in Berlin in the fall 2015\. It will begin at midnight and end at 8 am. The performance will be set up with the orchestra encircled by hundreds of beds. At 8 am the next day, Richter will ask the audience about their experience. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] You're watching Everwell. Know more, live [00:04] better. If [00:12] I don't [00:19] get at least eight hours of sleep, I'm tired, I'm crabby, [00:23] I'm sluggish, I have trouble thinking clearly, making [00:25] decisions. I'd say people need around, you know, eight [00:28] hours of sleep and but when you're younger your just [00:33] able to still function with less If [00:37] you think about it, sleep is a lot like weight. There's an [00:40] ideal we're all suppose to meet but few of us do. So is [00:44] getting less than the recommended eight hours a night [00:46] really bad for us? Well a lot less is a problem. But if [00:50] you're getting a little less, there's probably no need to [00:52] lose sleep over it. Routinely sleeping less [00:56] than seven hours a night leads to reduced attention, [00:59] concentration, and memory in most people according [01:02] to research. One result is an increased risk of car [01:05] accidents, but individuals vary widely in how they're [01:08] effected and how much [ MUSIC ] Getting six hours of [01:11] sleep, for example, can have a severe impact on some [01:14] people and barely make a difference in others. [01:18] Though you may think you fall in the second category, [01:20] it can be hard to judge accurately for yourself. Studies [01:24] amongst sleep deprived people show that they often [01:27] overestimate their alertness on tasks like driving. [01:30] [ NOISE ] As for the effects on our health Studies [01:34] overall have linked less than six hours a night with an [01:37] increased risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, [01:41] obesity, and premature death. Interestingly, getting [01:45] lots of z's, meaning nine or more hours a night, is also [01:49] associated with these risks. But it's unclear whether [01:52] sleeping that much is the cause of health problems, or [01:55] just the result. There's no evidence that sleeping in on [01:58] weekends is harmful, and it may help make up for lost [02:01] sleep during the week, but not entirely. Your best [02:05] bet is to consistently get seven or eight hours a night. If [02:09] your reaction to that is, dream on Try turning off that [02:12] TV and shutting down your computer a little earlier [02:15] every evening. It could help make that dream of [02:18] getting more sleep a reality. 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