The top ten Sunday Times bestseller. Books of the Year 2017 by TLS, Observer, Sunday Times, FT, Guardian, Daily Mail, and Evening Standard.

"Vital ... a life-raft." - Guardian
"A top sleep scientist argues that sleep is more important for our health than diet or exercise." - The Times
"It had a powerful effect on me." - Observer
"I urge you all to read this book." - Times Higher Education

Sleep is one of the most important aspects of our life, health, and longevity, yet it is increasingly neglected in twenty-first-century society, with devastating consequences. Every major disease in the developed world - Alzheimer's, cancer, obesity, diabetes - has very strong causal links to deficient sleep. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, what good it serves, or why its absence is so damaging to our health. Compared to the other basic drives in life - eating, drinking, and others.