Nodding Off

Sleep plays a crucial role in our waking lives, and we need to start paying it more attention. The latest research tells us that it's essential for learning and memory, for mental health and physical well-being, and yet we tend to only think about it when it's proving a struggle.

Nodding Off leads you on a fascinating journey through the science of sleep as it evolves throughout our lives; from babies to teenagers, from middle age to the later years of our life, there are constantly new challenges to our sleep. Based on knowledge accumulated over almost two decades as a sleep researcher, Professor Alice Gregory shares real-life stories and interviews with other sleep experts to find the answers to questions, such as:

Why do so many adolescents enjoy lying in at the weekends? Why do children experiencing anxiety, behavioural problems or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder so often have co-occurring sleep problems? Why are scientists turning to sleep disorders such as sleep paralysis to try to understand paranormal experiences?

With important tips on improving your sleep, Nodding Off is an essential read for anyone who sleeps, and more important still for those who don't get enough. Fans of Matthew Walker's Why We Sleep will love this book!

“While extolling the virtues of sleep and its fundamental importance to our health, Gregory reveals some interesting tidbits.”

Science Nodding Off is a well paced and engaging read. Chemistry World A revealing new book [...] covers every aspect of sleep [...] For those who have insomnia, this book may help, since knowledge is power. The Scotsman Professor Alice Gregory [...] has proved that sleep science, far from being an exhausted topic, is an endlessly fascinating rabbit hole of surprising facts, discoveries and counter-intuitions. Sleep Junkies Shares real life stories as well as insightful discussions with other sleep experts to answer key questions on all things sleep and sleeplessness. OM Yoga and Lifestyle Alice Gregory has written an engaging and accessible book that guides the reader through sleep-related issues from birth until old age. This is no dry academic tome but instead a lively tour of all aspects of sleep from an expert in the field. Highly recommended! -- Chris French, Professor of Psychology and Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Goldsmiths, University of London I sat reading Nodding Off during the course of a few sleepless, heavily jet-lagged nights. In its pages, Alice Gregory offers a compendious journey through the ages of sleep. Her expertise and passion for the subject infuses this most readable book. It is an authoritative addition to this often-neglected field. Ben Holden, editor of Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Poems That Make Grown Men Cry and Poems That Make Grown Women Cry. Sleep matters! That is the battle cry of Nodding Off. Everyone who wants a good night's sleep should read Alice Gregory's excellent book on the science of sleep from birth through adulthood. -- Jodi A. Mindell, author of Sleeping Through the Night and Chair of the Pediatric Sleep Council and website BabySleep.com

Alice Gregory is a highly respected expert on sleep throughout development. She has been researching sleep for more than a decade and has published more than 100 articles on this and associated topics. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Oxford, her PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, and is currently a Professor at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Alice collaborates widely with other sleep experts throughout the world, and has the latest research on sleep at her fingertips. She excels in the public communication of science, contributing regularly to BBC Focus Magazine. Her articles for The Conversation website have been republished in numerous international outlets, include Sud Ouest, The Independent and the Daily Mail, and Alice has also published pieces in the Guardian.

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