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‘Recreational drugs’ explores the origins, mechanisms, and criminalization of many widely used drugs. Many recreational drugs are legal including alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, which are all widely available. Other drugs are controlled by law. Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug, but some people advocate its use in pain relief. Likewise, amphetamines have been used as decongestants and in treating ADHD, but its criminalization led to the development of designer drugs such as ecstasy. Heroin and cocaine are considered as harder drugs that carry many more risks to users and society. Many Western countries have strict drug laws, but there are moves in some countries to legalize or decriminalize cannabis. ...Less

We live in a society of 24-hour news coverage, supermarkets, and internet availability. The odds are stacked against good sleep. How have we arrived at this state of affairs? Shift work is partly to blame as it means shift workers have to sleep during the wrong circadian phase. What does shift work do to health? ‘The 24-hour society’ examines the effects of shift work on health in terms of sleep times, driving after work, eating times, and cancer risk. As a society we should promote sleep friendly and dark friendly policies and lifestyles and prioritize and value night time rest as a way to restore our body, brain, and health. ...Less

Society affects sleep and sleep affects society, influencing childhood learning and development, workplace safety and efficiency, and the economy. Society's attitude to sleep affects how much sleep we get, for example if hard work is glorified and sleeplessness lauded as a positive trait. ‘Sleep and society’ looks at the influence of society on sleep culture. Lack of sleep is a huge risk to safe driving. Why does society not take drowsy-driving more seriously? How does caffeine consumption affect sleep? In what way do school schedules affect sleep? Should we take naps during the workday to improve productivity? How can society support a more sleep-friendly lifestyle? ...Less

Numerous studies have shown that a broad range of activities—both physical and cognitive—vary across the 24-hour day. The blood pressure and heart rate of a human shows striking day–night variations. Simply, an organism is set up to function differently at different times of the day. ‘Time of day matters’ outlines the different human chronotypes—the different preferred waking and sleeping times of humans—and explains concepts such as ‘social jet lag’. There are optimal times of day for physical and cognitive activities, and chronotherapy has also shown that the administration of medication at different times of day can have an important impact on efficacy. ...Less