How to Sleep Like a Caveman
By Shailee Thompson

Sleep has hardly changed since Paleolithic humans snoozed soundly in their caves. While sabre-toothed tigers were their biggest night-time worry, today it’s stress and social media that keep us awake, but the solutions are the same, and sleep therapist Dr Merijn van de Laar offers understanding and advice to have you sleeping better within weeks.How to get a better night’s sleep in 3 weeks:Don’t believe everything you read or hear about sleepLet go of the 8-hour ruleUse the simple sleep diary in the back of this book to record your sleep pattern over 3 weeksDiscover your personal sleep needsExamine your attitude towards lying awake at nightShorter total bed times might be betterFocus on the reason for lying awake rather than on the reason for not sleepingReduce stressKeep regular bedtimesFollow the rules of natureRespect your personal circadian rhythmDon’t tempt the night-time ghostsHuman sleep as we know it today evolved hundreds of thousands years ago, to suit a hunter–gatherer lifestyle. It’s not always compatible with our modern lives, but remains an essential function, vital for our health, well-being and daytime functioning. In this groundbreaking new book, Dr Merijn van de Laar investigates the origins of sleep based on archaeological findings and anthropological studies in contemporary hunter-gatherers, looking at the major discrepancies between our primordial bodily needs and our current sleep-inhibiting behaviour.