The Sleep Myth

Has the modern world misunderstood rest?

These days, we’re able to customize our sleeping environments, track personal sleep data and find out more than we ever thought possible about sleep with the touch of a button.

So why are we still so tired?

In this fascinating journey through the history, science, and culture of sleep, award-winning journalist Amanda Ruggeri investigates the modern myths and popular beliefs driving today’s $78 billion sleep industry, exploring subjects including:

How our sleep habits have changed (for better or worse) since humanity’s hunter-gatherer days
The misleading modern ideal of “eight uninterrupted hours”
How little-known, complex factors like our relationships, chronotype and mindset shape our tiredness
The hidden costs of the wellness industry, from melatonin supplements to wearable sleep trackers
-Exciting new research changing our understanding of sleep, from paradoxical insomnia to how our brain takes local "naps" while it's awake
Why rest, not just sleep, deserves more attention
Simple, science-based strategies to improve your relationship with sleep

Everyone deserves to feel rested. Part exposé, part scientific investigation, part sleep self-help, The Sleep Myth untangles common narratives with one main aim: to help more people get there.