A Financial Times readers' best 2021 summer book'Powerful' - The Daily MailFOREWORD By Dr Sophie Bostock"29th June0 Hours, 0 MINUTESEleven forty-seven pm. A door slams as the neighbour's teenage son comes home from the pub. An hour later, the last Tube rumbles past and I thump my pillow over to find a cool spot. I refuse to open the window because of my fear of hearing the first bird of morning, confirmation that the next day is about to start and I have failed, yet again. Failed in my quest to sleep, which one would think is a basic human right.But I am not a Pow whose captors breach the Geneva Convention. No one has stolen my sleep from me. I am not wired up to electrodes, a neon light is not shining in my face all night long. I have blackout blinds and a king-size bed all to myself. My enemies are my brain and a body that has forgotten how to shut down."After a single, catastrophic event, journalist Miranda Levy had one sleepless night, then another, and then another. She sought help from anyone she could: doctors, a therapist, an acupuncturist, a hypnotist, a reiki practitioner and a personal trainer - but nothing seemed to work.Sleep, wellbeing and mental health are intrinsically linked.
A Financial Times readers' best 2021 summer book'Powerful' - The Daily MailFOREWORD By Dr Sophie Bostock"29th June0 Hours, 0 MINUTESEleven forty-seven pm. A door slams as the neighbour's teenage son comes home from the pub. An hour later, the last Tube rumbles past and I thump my pillow over to find a cool spot. I refuse to open the window because of my fear of hearing the first bird of morning, confirmation that the next day is about to start and I have failed, yet again. Failed in my quest to sleep, which one would think is a basic human right.But I am not a Pow whose captors breach the Geneva Convention. No one has stolen my sleep from me. I am not wired up to electrodes, a neon light is not shining in my face all night long. I have blackout blinds and a king-size bed all to myself. My enemies are my brain and a body that has forgotten how to shut down."After a single, catastrophic event, journalist Miranda Levy had one sleepless night, then another, and then another. She sought help from anyone she could: doctors, a therapist, an acupuncturist, a hypnotist, a reiki practitioner and a personal trainer - but nothing seemed to work.Sleep, wellbeing and mental health are intrinsically linked.