The journalist and author Bregje Hofstede discusses her book In Search of Sleep: An Insomniac’s Quest to Understand the Science, Psychology, and Culture of Sleeplessness (Greystone Books, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

In Search of Sleep: An Insomniac’s Quest to Understand the Science, Psychology, and Culture of Sleeplessness by Bregje Hodstede (Greystone Books, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: In Search of Sleep

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Unlike most books about sleep, a recent book looks at insomnia as a physical and psychological condition. It’s called In Search of Sleep: An Insomniac’s Quest to Understand the Science, Psychology, and Culture of Sleeplessness. It’s author Bregje Hofstede joins me now, and I’ll ask her about her own personal experience with insomnia. It got pretty bad, but she found a way out of it, including moving to a small village in France. In the book she also discusses the myriad things that are keeping a lot of us awake at night. And it’s no surprise that money is one of those things that worry us, and as Bregje’s research reveals inequality has a lot to do with this; that those with the least suffer the most when it comes to sleeplessness. It’s a fascinating book, and there’s a lot here that will attract those interested in history, neuroscience, as well as cultural anthropology. Bregje Hofstede is a journalist and author whose books have been nominated for international prizes and translated into multiple languages. This book was translated by Alice Tetley-Paul, and is published by Greystone Books. We taped this interview in early June, with Ms. Hofstede joining me from The Netherlands. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Bregje Hofstede; Ms. Hofstede, good morning.

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