EXPLODING HEAD SYNDROME (and other strange sleep sensations)

What makes sleep such an interesting subject to research?

As a psychologist I’m interested in the science of mind and behaviour. How we spend a third of our lives is important for how we experience the other two thirds. Our ability to learn, remember, the way we look, our weight, attractiveness, our ability to regulate emotions or fight off illness are all linked to our sleep. I don’t want to go too far and suggest that sleep is a cure-all, but it can help with a lot of different things. There’s also still a huge amount to learn about this topic, so as a sleep researcher I never run out of ideas for new projects. Each piece of research results in many more questions.

You’ve put a lot of your research into your new book, Nodding Off. Why did you decide to write a book now?

I first became serious about writing a book after