MASTERING SLEEP
Sleep is the ultimate mystery, and mastery of sleep is the holy grail of health. In the inky blackness of a moonless night, two ships collide off the Coromandel Coast, spilling 280 tonnes of oil. A drowsy truck driver veers off a highway and crashes into oncoming traffic. The night-shift operators at a nuclear power plant trigger a meltdown after responding inappropriately to a fire alarm. A single factor lies behind these accidents. . . sleep deprivation! Apart from leading to accidents and disasters, it also drives the spiralling growth of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and dementia. Despite these serious consequences of sleep deprivation, most of us do not get enough sleep. In an engaging and accessible format, Swami Subramaniam deftly navigates the thickets of neuroscience and medicine to uncover the mysteries of sleep. . . why we sleep; what happens when we do not; and how we should use sleep as a tool to improve our health and performance.