Sleep and Ageing

Sleep and Ageing

Poems and Soundscapes

Let us know what you think!

Thanks very much for taking the time to fill in this completely anonymous survey – your feedback is invaluable and will help us evaluate the project and inform future initiatives.








    Over the course of several months, artist and curator Chiara Dellerba investigated how noises from nature – including brown, white, and pink noise – can activate stimuli in our brain to promote wellbeing. This is true especially if such noises are assembled, mixed, and curated to follow specific patterns and compositions.

    These stimuli help us reminisce about memories from our past, trigger emotions and perceptions from our present, and imagine scenarios for our future. All these processes can foster states of calmness and decompression.

    As a lack of sleep continues to rise amongst ageing populations, substantial evidence shows that spending time with the sounds of nature helps to reduce stress and mental fatigue, and can lead to improved quality of sleep. Academic studies have also demonstrated the potential for music to induce similar results.

    Through a series of conversations, mapping deep listening, writing, and mark-making sessions, project participants have actively engaged with these kinds of multisensorial experiences. They have provided visual and written responses to sound stimuli in order to unearth the possibilities of “virtual” nature experiences which might boost sleep and wellbeing.

    The Sleep and Ageing collection collates, across these multidisciplinary practices, a series of collaborative meditative poems and creative writings which emerged from deep listening to various sounds from nature.

    In the background chalk marks on black. In the foreground a poem: Waves of calm Washing Soothing Pulling Pushing Stretching full length Fluid light healing my space Pulsing and filling every cell Nurtures roots into the earth Flowing in and out Flowing in and out Tree branches arching limbs Protecting Soothing With the stars above holding a safe exploration Peaceful, healing dance into sleep
    In the background chalk marks on black. In the foreground a poem: He stands against the storm Making music with his heartstrings His soul calling out to the waves Crashing like the loneliness of his beings Leaning into the high water’s edge of grief These are the words he cannot say Turning into salt Dispersing into the air
    In the background: white chalk marks on black. A poem in the foreground
    In the background: white chalk marks on black. A poem in the foreground: They moved in slow procession Footstep in Foostep in Footstep Each hooked to the other Lockstep in lockstep in lockstep Gradual revival of grass lands Slow step in slow step in slow step
    In the background: white chalk marks on black. A poem in the foreground: Moving fast on an exquisite horse crossing ions airy flight we’ve gone beyond a dusky haze air is boundless heading for a higher plane corridor through constellation I hold on tight
    In the background: white chalk marks on black. A poem in the foreground: Bumpy ride Moonlight on water Storm thunder Rain Monsoon Sweet sad melancholy flute Voices in harmony Rain becomes drops on the flute Far away Rain Voices moving away watching over you Loss I will look after you, watch you when you sleep Sleep safe until the storm goes away Sceptical Critical Moving towards the light Down into the flow of an emotional neutral calmness 4 Moving fast on an exquisite horse crossing ions airy flight we’ve gone beyond a dusky haze air is boundless heading for a higher plane corridor through constellation I hold on tight
    In the background: white chalk marks on black. A poem in the foreground: Isolation breaks Water flowing fast Melancholic Sun heat Refreshing Beating heart Reviving bird song Freedom, water Clouds around Restful white peace Ethereal simplicity like a gem Suspended in a sapphire sea
    In the background: white chalk marks on black. A poem in the foreground: Ripples on calm water Waves of calm, washing soothing each cell Water, gentle waves, continually moving on the surface of a quiet sea The gentle soothing rushing of ether Lights on the river Sensing the silence Beauty and wonder of nature Sunshine, flashing in between trees Branches arching limbs protecting, showing the way Peace Peace Peace Freedom, the sound of it…Freedom! Bells but muted, far off Melancholic voices in a chorus Stars blinking circles of OM Grounding At peace Sensing the genesis of the world

    You can also download an accessible, text-only version of the poems here.

    A digital archive of sounds, developed in collaboration with musician Kamal Joory, is also included below. Joory interpreted the creative writings produced in the workshops, translating them into a series of soundscapes for users to explore and discover at their own pace.

    As well as browsing through this treasure trove of sounds and words, you can check out the Sleep and Ageing co-production toolkit and add your own written responses to the soundscapes of your choice. Giving your input, you will help build up an open-source library of meditative poems to slow read while deep listening.

    Download the toolkit

    For an accessible version of the toolkit, please click here.

    Participant information sheetDownload

    Contribute to the Exhibition







      All the artworks on display are co-produced by Chiara Dellerba in collaboration with project participants, including Eric, Sara, Martha Sur, Jo Ferenczi, Helen Rice, Sue Allen, Isabel Footring, and Karey Logan, and licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. A special thanks to artist Kamal Joory and Paper Crane Poets for their kind collaboration and creative inputs, to Dr Greg Elder for his expert input on the topic of sleep and ageing, and to the project Research Assistant, Dr James Rákóczi, for his support throughout.

      This online exhibition, curated by Chiara Dellerba, is part of the wider Understanding and Reimagining Sleep and Its Disorders project, run in partnership with The Sleep Charity and funded by a Wellcome Trust Research Enrichment Public Engagement Grant led by Dr Diletta De Cristofaro.

      To view the other collections in the Reimagining Sleep exhibition, or to download the exhibition catalogue, click on the buttons below.

      sleep and parenting
      sleep and menopause
      download the catalogue

      These works are licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0