Counting Sheep: The Science & Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams

Counting Sheep: The Science & Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams

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VGC.HarperCollins,2002.First edition-first printing(1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2).Black hardback(brown lettering to the spine,small nick on the edge of the cover) with Dj(very small tear,some nicks,scratches and crease on the edges of the Dj cover),both in VGC.Nice and clean pages but slightly tainted on the outer edges,some creases and small nicks on the edges of the pages.The book is in VGC with light shelf wear on the Dj cover(two small marks inside the Dj cover).412pp including References,index.Price un-clipped.A collectable first edition. This is another paragraph Review: Ronald Reagan was apparently famed for his love of sleep and hated to be disturbed during the night. Paul McCartney dreamed some of his best songs while asleep, including Yesterday, Yellow Submarine and Let It Be. Paul Martin's book tells you everything you ever wanted to know about sleep. Although a recent study suggested that too much sleep might be bad for us, Martin is firmly of the opinion that we don't get enough of it. Looking at the long-hours culture of British politics, he suggests it's hogwash to believe it's both feasible and admirable to sleep only four hours a night. Sleepiness, he points out, is partly responsible for many of the world's worst major accidents including the Supertanker Exxon Valdez and the Three Mile Island Power Station. Sleepiness results in more deaths on the road than alcohol or drugs. What is sleep for? Martin examines the various theories. Is it simply the best thing to do during darkness? Is it for brain maintenance? Are dreams merely waste products? He examines remedies for insomnia from opium through to valerian, to having your feet tickled. He looks at sleep walking, night terrors, nightmares and snoring. There is a whole chapter on the curious phenomena of nocturnal emissions and yawning. We just don't appreciate our beds enough. Winston Churchill worked in bed all morning. John Bayley writes his books in bed. Benjamin Disraeli used two beds in hot weather, keeping cool by moving back and forth between them. An American psychologist has even suggested that George Bush's gaffes and garbled sentences are the result of lack of shut-eye on the part of a man who needs a lot of it. The book deplores the way society wilfully ignores the problem of sleep. Sleep disorders are given only five minutes in a medical education syllabus, and the prime importance of sleep for the recovery of hospital patients is totally ignored in the organization of most hospital routines.