Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep and Health

Description

A guide to using the science of the body clock to create the optimum personal routine, and sleep better, work better and feel better. In the twenty-first century, we increasingly push our daily routines into the night, carrying out work, exercise and our social lives long after dark. But we have forgotten that our bodies are governed by a 24-hour biological clock which guides us towards the best time to sleep, eat and think. New science has proven that living out of sync with this clock is not only disrupting our sleep, but leaving us more vulnerable to infection, cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and mental illness. In Life Time, Professor Russell Foster shares his life's work, taking us on a fascinating and surprising journey through the science of our body clocks. Using his own studies, as well as insights from an international community of sleep scientists and biologists studying circadian rhythms, he illustrates the surprising effects the time of day can have on our health- how a walk outside at dawn can ensure a better night's sleep, how eating after sundown can affect our weight, and the extraordinary effects the time we take our medication can have on our risk of life-threatening conditions, such as strokes. In the modern world, we have neglected an essential part of our biology. But with knowledge of this astonishing science, we can get back into the rhythm, and live healthier, sharper lives.

Russell Foster is Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi) and Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford. He frequently contributes to newspapers, television and radio, including an appearance on Desert Island Discs, and has co-written four popular science books - this is his first as sole author.

Astonishing . . . What gives the book special force is the author's prominence on the front lines of circadian neuroscience and sleep medicine, not to mention the breadth and depth of the research, which he is as excited to share as if he were recounting a gripping mystery. * Wall Street Journal *