Sleep medicine is a growing field. As is often the case in any rapidly expanding field, the literature has become abundant and often controversial. At the same time, specialized textbooks, manuals, periodicals, and papers are not easily accessible and are difficult to interpret for the practical needs of general practitioners, psychiatrists, and other health professionals. A groundbreaking resource, Sleep Psychiatry summarizes the current knowledge about the intrinsic relationship between sleep and psychiatry. Highlights include: " Adaptive function of parasomnias and new view on the origin of habits as modulators of alertness and sleep " Destructive and forensic aspects of sleep psychiatry " Sleep as a physiological basis for daytime mental and emotional functions " Physiological sleep mechanisms as the foundation for the development of alertness, attention, and productive wakefulness " Sleep deviations as the basis for alertness/attention problems " Sleep state as a trigger of sickness and death " Effective control of sleep mechanisms as a means to prevent and treat some medical and psychiatric problems Existing books on this subject are too specific and written for sleep specialists only, or they are too general and not practical. This is the first book devoted to conceptual and clinical practice and oriented toward the interrelationship between sleep and psychiatry. With contributions from a wide range of specialists, the book explores the role of sleep in the pathophysiology of mental health disorders and death as well as in healing, longevity, well being, and performance.