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CIAN TRAYNORhasn’t had a full night’s sleep in his life. Having spent years nodding off for only a few minutes a time and often struggling through the waking hours, he went in search of a reason – and a possible cure

MY HEART CAN be heard pounding through the dark. All I can see is the unblinking green light of a CCTV camera staring from across the room. There are 24 electrodes attached to my body. Three around the heart, four attached to the back of my head, two on each leg, one beside each eye. There’s a microphone taped to the side of my mouth to determine whether I snore, a clip on my finger to measure the level of oxygen in my blood, and a plastic device below my nose to monitor my breathing rate. The only thing that can’t be recorded is my frustration about why I’m not getting what most people take for granted: a good night’s sleep.