March 2009 Book of the Month.

Everything you ever wanted to know about sleep or things to do with bedtime. Some fascinating facts and revelations. Just don’t get in to bed with this or you won’t want to go to sleep, you’ll be too busy reading!!!

Synopsis

This is a quirky, amusing, information-packed book for all lovers of sleep. It's a celebration of nature's greatest free gift, the perfect companion for the bedside table. It's the book to curl up with before falling asleep.

It looks at the history, culture, folklore, language and science of sleep. Did you know that the siesta was once a British tradition? Why do we say 'sleep like a top'? Does counting sheep work? What are the very best sleeps? Who invented pyjamas? If dogs sleep so much, why are they always yawning? What are the best films about sleep? Do today's children have less sleep than Edwardian children? Does booze help or hinder sleep?

Not only is sleep a great natural pleasure, it's also essential to good health. The book examines how a lack of sleep is increasingly seen as a health risk.

Sleep is also the place of dreams and nightmares. Why are so many dreams the same and what are the archetypal recurring dreams? What is the origin of the word 'nightmare'? And what do Bugs Bunny, the surrealists and Freud have to do with dreaming?

Sleep is there to be enjoyed. It's not worth getting into bed for anything else.

About the Author

Sean Coughlan is a journalist, author and frustrated sleep enthusiast. He writes news and features for the BBC. For six years, he wrote a weekly funny column about money for the Guardian. He is 45 years old, born in Portsmouth and lives in London. He has three young daughters. Hence the interest in sleep. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation