Sleep Thieves

A look at the facts and folklore of sleep that is mainly concerned with the problems of an increasingly sleep-deprived society, and the effects this has on people's work. The author shows, for example, that the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the space shuttle Challenger disaster were associated with people suffering from sleep deprivation. He also looks at some of the more subtle and insidious effects of sleep loss on our physical and mental health. The author attempts to answer a number of questions: Do fish sleep? Are there really morning and night people? Do some people really only need four hours sleep a night? He also includes accounts of sleep oddities, such as people who have committed murder in their sleep, and descriptions of fairly common disorders which may be responsible for unexplained infant deaths. The book also describes techniques to improve the quality and efficiency of the reader's own sleep.