Profile
John J Shaw
My CV
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Education:
Lancaster University (2010-2018)
Blackpool Sixth Form College (2008-2010)
Hodgson High School, Blackpool (2003-2008)
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Qualifications:
PhD in Psychology, Lancaster University
MSc in Psychological Research Methods, Pass with Merit, Lancaster University
BA Hons Organisation Studies and Psychology, 2:1, Lancaster University
Blackpool Sixth Form College
A levels: English Language (B), Psychology (B), Biology (C)
AS level: Sociology (I honestly don’t know, It wasn’t great though)
Hodgson High School
GCSE: 7 As, 6 Bs
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Work History:
- De Montfort University, 2018-Present
- Lecturer in Sleep Psychology
- University of Aberdeen, September 2017-April 2018
- Teaching Fellow in Psychology
- Lancaster University, October 2014-July 2017
- Graduate Teaching Assistant
- WHSmith
- Supervisor, 2010-2013
- Retail worker, 2008-2010
- De Montfort University, 2018-Present
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Current Job:
Lecturer in Sleep Psychology
This job is split into many different parts. I teach on various courses, focusing on cognitive psychology, biological psychology, and research methods. I also run our employability programme, making sure that after completing their degree our students have the best opportunity to get a job.
On the research side, I design and run experiments to see how sleep can affect how we remember information.
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About Me:
I’m a sleep researcher interest in exploring how sleep can benefit us in day to day life and problem solving (Primarily through video games). Most easily identified by arms covered in tattoos and looking tired 🥱
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Read more
Hi! I’m John (he/him) and I’m a cognitive psychologist/lecturer interested in the question why do we sleep? 😴
Right now I’m living in Leicester with my Fiancée Natalie, and at the moment we are dog-sitting Penny and Max for her parents while they are travelling.
When I’m not working I enjoy going to the gym, competing in outdoor obstacle courses (like below), Videogames (Mainly PES, Fifa, and Football Manager right now, but I always make time for Classic Pokémon), or just thinking of random questions I want an answer to.
Over UK lockdown I decided it was an opportunity to expand my knowledge, so I’m proud to say over the last 12 months I have watched every single episode of The Simpsons ever made. 705 episodes. Was it good? No. Could I have predicted that Season 31 was bad? Yes. But a key part of being a scientist is testing your predictions.
Interesting facts about me
- I was diagnosed with ADHD, Dyslexia, and Dyspraxia at the age of 23
- I’m the first in my family to go to University (and have never left)
- I have 100h+ of tattoo work on my body. I can only say 100h+ as I lost count
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My Typical Day:
When researching
Wake up at 6pm
Head into the office
7pm: Wire up a participant with our sleep monitoring equipment
7:30pm: Make them complete an experiment (or video game in problem solving)
8pm-9am: Watch them sleep
9am: Get them to complete a second part
10am: Clean up
Noon: Go to sleep -
Read more
My day can vary massively depending on whether I’m running some research or not as sleep research isn’t something you can just throughout the day
Non-research days
On a non-research day, I wake up around 5-6am, head to the gym and spend roughly 1h there to help me wake up. After that around 7:30-8 I head into the office.
When not actively researching I spend most of my time teaching undergraduate classes focused around Psychology. Roughly I give one hour talks on topics like Sleep/Dreams, problem solving, and perception, but alongside side these I run smaller seminars where 10-12 students and myself have a discussion about research areas. Beyond this I’m mainly reading articles on the latest research in my area or starting to write up my own backlog of studies. Once I finish I head home and just try to relax, primarily through video games right now just to distract me. Maybe take Max and Penny for a walk if Natalie hasn’t already.
Research days
The days where I’m actively researching are my favourite. This is when I am doing what I feel I am best at. When we run our sleep studies we naturally need to do them at night (it’s when we all sleep!), so my day is completely swapped.
At 6pm I leave the house and head into the office.
6:30pm-8:30pm is spent getting participants comfortable in their ‘bedroom’. We have a small room with a single bed, wardrobe, nice rug, just a nice space.
Example of our bedroom
While preparing participants for the experiment it’s a great opportunity to get to know them a bit more. Often it goes into discussing the weirdest/craziest dream they have, what it all means, etc.
8:30pm: Depending on what experiment we are running, I leave them to just be on their own or run a quick experiment on them, usually just showing them some words that they need to remember or if we are running a problem solving game, giving them something like Angry Birds/Humans Fall Flat. At around 9pm I leave them to start to sleep and be there to wake them up at 7am.
9pm-7am: During this time I have to be awake and making sure they are ok, but it’s quite a boring period, so I do a bit of work, or if I’m particularly bored watch Netflix (I watched all of Game of Thrones during testing), play on my Switch (mainly Football Manager- FC United of Manchester Hall of Famer), just really anything to keep me awake.
At 7am, I wake up the participant and we just have a bit of a chat to wake them up a little. Talk about if they had any dreams, what they remember, etc. Once they are feeling a bit more award I get them to complete part 2 of the experiment. Once that is done I send them on their way and begin to clean up. After that I head home and finally get to sleep!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would donate the money towards the charity The Brilliant Club. They work towards supporting pupils from underrepresented backgrounds progress onto University when they otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Daydreaming about Dreams
What did you want to be after you left school?
I can honestly say I had no idea, and that's ok! I only knew what I wanted to do after my Masters at University.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Far more than I can admit! Talking back, not paying attention, the lot. I was diagnosed with ADHD in the 2nd year of my PhD and reflecting my time in school, a lot of what I was in trouble for could be explained by that!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Being from Manchester- Oasis. Every. Single. Time
What's your favourite food?
Anything spicy/with Siracha. I add it to everything I can.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Be able to focus that little more, Have enough money to research a question no matter how ridiculous (Do ants dream?), learn to take criticism better, it's an opportunity to improve.,
Tell us a joke.
My partner keeps on having vivid dreams, shouting things like "Hobbit!", "Mordor!" and "Gandalf!". Always Tolkien in their sleep...
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