Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams

Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams
Paul Martin

A brilliant overview of that most vital, most underrated and most elusive of human activities, sleep.Using the approach and skills he deployed to such successful effect on the relationship between mind and body in the prize-winning ‘The Sickening Mind’, likeable British popular science author Paul Martin here tackles the science of that most mysterious, elusive and alluring of human activities, sleeping, and draws on both cutting-edge neuroscience and classic literature to do so.We spend one third of our lives asleep, but know hardly anything about it, and can remember so little of it as we come out of it. Why?Are dreams the place we go to resolve our problems, emasculate our fears and rehearse our hopes? Why are we paralysed when we dream? Why did sleep evolve?And is anybody getting enough sleep?

COUNTING SHEEP

The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams

PAUL MARTIN

Copyright (#ulink_3520a952-75a8-598d-ac67-5a97b134707f)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/)

Published by HarperPress 2003

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2002

Copyright © Paul Martin 2002

Paul Martin asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780006551720

Ebook Edition © MARCH 2016 ISBN: 9780007406784

Version: 2016-02-11

Contents

Cover (#ua80fc455-2f27-5d7c-9fca-eb9476ae9cb0)

Title Page (#u9107714d-ed60-510f-8976-9b68940ee021)

Copyright (#u8bab2137-8c70-51b4-aad3-c41332c36563)

PART I: PRELIMINARIES (#u534b858d-4b59-5aa3-ab51-070d7768eea6)

1: A Third of Life (#uc050b292-b7ef-520d-9723-b15099ecb4b3)

A sleep-sick society? (#ulink_e2384876-eacb-5ddd-8084-65fbf35183ed)

The universal imperative (#ulink_ed620ba9-9745-5479-9f07-85a8ec6715f3)

Half asleep (#ulink_08143b2d-cd18-50f8-ad75-388778404476)

Nice, not naughty (#ulink_c0444367-682c-53a6-89e9-a12457fba012)

PART II: INSUFFICIENCIES (#ub710fa96-b025-54af-bf3b-5b7d70b3a5a7)

2: Sleepy People (#u85dea0be-480b-570b-aad0-925a575e8049)

Are we sleep-deprived? (#ulink_fe5a0cad-4d97-5b63-a7bb-d9cf7daea491)

Are you sleep-deprived? (#ulink_4147fc1b-77dd-5d2f-9ba6-ab5571ad6dd1)

Reasons for not sleeping (#ulink_d08c104c-673c-54bf-87e4-56c1369891c4)

Ancient and modern (#ulink_e73b743e-63df-5856-a4d6-90093cd1dd70)

Sleepy drivers (#ulink_0643902d-ddb4-5187-8819-0cd9e711ee35)

Sleepy pilots (#ulink_838729e3-6261-5c3b-9997-d00f25214ee1)

Sleepy doctors (#ulink_36b6e00e-5b16-5e6f-9770-a2d0c6b82975)

The madness of politicians (#ulink_6cc25b44-5507-554b-aca7-673fc0d8e902)

Truly, madly, sleepily (#ulink_9d6ee05c-2417-52dd-8ea8-2302adb003cf)

The price of eternal vigilance is liberty (#ulink_69da4085-2e99-5364-b785-5c1b1f2d4f65)

3: Dead Tired (#u30b7ddb6-7431-5612-b355-a029da480b32)

Sleepiness (#ulink_81fa281f-3984-51f4-b95c-dedd4680d9fe)

Fighting the beast (#ulink_46a4edee-a805-5e7f-8889-4f3c6107acdb)

A soil for peevishness (#ulink_35a0e7d1-d74a-5bfe-a66b-b06123da7134)

Tired people are stupid and reckless (#ulink_ef3870d3-3db6-5d18-b4b7-60db998cfccc)

Alcohol, beauty and old age (#ulink_a02e9f05-03d5-5079-b204-3bf3edf53a1d)

Champion wakers (#ulink_75db5262-c5f6-5a34-878a-5723c74b53a2)

Uses and abuses (#ulink_1d3af885-9d46-5d54-ae0b-38ea58ba6325)

4: The Golden Chain (#uffe99068-ecfa-5859-a988-74273041693f)

A waking death (#ulink_6754d5e1-dc33-521d-b290-ac9245933eaf)