In this engrossing, expansive look at the facts and folklore of sleep, best-selling author Stanley Coren provides astounding new evidence that we are becoming an increasingly sleep-deprived society, and that this condition is seriously affecting our work, posing a danger to ourselves and others.

He shows, for example, that the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the disaster involving the space shuttle Challenger, and the nuclear accidents at both Chernobyl and Three Mile Island were all associated with people suffering from sleep deprivation. Drawing on dramatic interviews with a range of professionals including doctors, airline pilots, stockbrokers, and truck drivers, Coren shows the risks that everyone now faces as more and more people in the workforce operate with insufficient sleep.

He also looks at some of the more subtle and insidious effects of sleep loss on our physical and mental health and explains how to tell whether you are getting enough sleep. In addition Coren asks intriguing questions like: Do fish sleep? Are there really "morning" people and "night" people? Why is it virtually impossible to fall asleep during midmorning hours no matter how tired you are? And how is it that you can sleep for hours on a plane and never feel rested?

Some provocative stories about sleep oddities are presented along with a description of some strange sleep disorders that affect a surprisingly large number of people. Finally, the book describes specific techniques to help children sleep through the night and to improve the quality and efficiency of your own sleep.