Sleep, day-dreaming, meditation – these are all different states of awareness. In these states we are not really aware of what is going on around us. But even when humans are awake, we take in very little about our surroundings. So this week we speak to psychologists and neuroscientists to ask, why are we conscious of so little?

Presenter and producer: David Edmonds
Editor: Richard Knight

(Photo: X-ray image of human head with lightning / Credit: Getty Images)