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The Nocturnal Brain

Tales of Nightmares and Neuroscience

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The Nocturnal Brain

By: Dr Guy Leschziner
Narrated by: Dr Guy Leschziner
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About this listen

*As featured on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast*

For those fascinated by neurology and for fans of
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat comes a powerful exploration of the mind during night time. Here are the mysteries of sleep, explained – from known conditions to the extreme.

‘The Secret World of Sleep interweaves bizarre real life stories with cutting edge neurological science in the true tradition of Oliver Sacks. A fascinating read.' Martha Kearney, BBC Radio 4

World-renowned neurologist and sleep expert, Doctor Guy Leschziner, takes you through various sleep conditions and how they arise and affect people. Insomnia, narcolepsy, night terrors and apnoea are just some of the conditions afflicting those struggling with sleep.

Then there are the extreme cases. The people frightened into paralysis by hallucinations. The woman in a state of deep sleep who gets dressed and goes for a drive. The teenager with ‘Sleeping Beauty Syndrome’, stuck in a cycle of excessive unconsciousness. The man who cleans out kitchens while 'sleep-eating'.

With compassionate stories of his patients and their conditions, Leschziner illustrates the neuroscience behind our sleeping minds, revealing the many biological and psychological factors necessary in getting the rest needed for health and happiness.

Pick of the Best Paperbacks - Sunday Times
Best January Paperbacks - The Times
Must Read Brain Books 2019 - Forbes Magazine
The Best Neuroscience Books of 2019 - The Scientist Magazine
The Best Books of 2019 - New Zealand Herald
Best 100 Summer Reads 2019 - Sunday Times
Week's best Science Picks - Nature
Books of the Year 2019 - Irish Independent

©2019 Dr Guy Leschziner (P)2019 Simon & Schuster UK
Sleep Disorders Mental Health

Critic Reviews

"Casebooks of neurological disorders are often strange and wonderful, but this one is special." (Sunday Times)

"The Nocturnal Brain will not promise to cure your insomnia, but it does make for an entertaining and thought-provoking bedtime read." (The Guardian)

What listeners say about The Nocturnal Brain

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Fascinating

A fantastic book that explains the importance of sleep through a number of intriguing case studies

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Informative, well explained, interesting and very well read

This is one of the most interesting and informative books on sleep. Complex aspects of the brain and of sleep are explained very clearly and comprehensively in a way that you never feel lost or like you need a degree to understand. If you listen while trying to fall asleep, the storytelling and smooth reading will have you drifting off easily.

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