Sleep medicine is a rapidly developing discipline and recent advances have greatly improved the outlook for many patients. Nevertherless, sleep disorders still often go unrecognized, resulting in potentially avoidable morbility. Sleep Medicine: A Guide to Sleep and Its Disorders is a practical reference which will be invaluable to physicians faced with sleep related problems, including sleep specialists, neurologists, psychiatrists, respiratory physicians, general (internal) physicians, paediatricians, geriatricians and general practitioners. Based on the successful first edition Handbook of Sleep Medicine by the same author, this is a comprehensive work on sleep and its disorders emphasising not only the scientific background and physiological basis, but also the clinical features and social context. The clinical chapters are symptom-based and cover important topics, such as sleep apnoeas and narcolepsy. There is a separate chapter on the effects of drugs on sleep and an account of how to investigate sleep disorders. The Impact of age is highlighted and there are specific sections in several of the chapters on the care of children and the elderly. There is a new chapter on the nature and causes of dreams and nightmares. The legal and social aspects, particularly of transportations, are emphasised.