Sleep Under the Microscope. What Happens to Us and Our Brain During Sleep

The popular science book «Sleep Under the Microscope» is written by Professor Vladislav Vyazovsky from the University of Oxford — a scientist studying the fundamental aspects of the biology and evolution of sleep, and Marina Karlin — a Swiss journalist and physicist by education. The authors do not promise that readers will sleep better after reading this book, but they are confident that it will help them appreciate sleep properly. The first months after birth, a person spends most of the time sleeping. What is the biological significance of this? What happens to sleep when the body matures and then ages? Does sleep perform the same role right after birth and shortly before death? Why is it sometimes impossible to wake up without an alarm clock, which doesn’t always, for everyone, and not immediately helps to part with sleep? Does sleep last the same length of time depending on when we fall asleep? Why do some of us wake up before dawn while their neighbors have barely fallen asleep? Can we sleep and be awake at the same time? Do we really lose consciousness when we fall asleep? Why is sleep at the beginning of the night much deeper than in the morning hours? Can we minimize sleep time? In what currency will the debt for sleep be calculated? Does the Moon affect sleep? How did a German bunker help establish the accuracy of biological clocks? Can we adapt to live on Mars? Is it worth fighting jet lag? What do sleeping pills do to our sleep? What role did the fruit fly play in the development of sleep science? This book is a journey into our individual development: from birth to deep old age and about the role of sleep in the implementation of the program that is responsible for the survival of our species.