"Sleepless: Unleashing the Subversive Power of the Night Self" by Annabel Abbs-Streets

Annabel Abbs-Streets discovered she didn't have to suffer at night when insomnia struck. She discovered something else: her night self."The night self is a version of ourselves you experience when you wake up in the middle of the night and you're all alone. Most of us start to ruminate or be worried," she said. Abbs-Streets said she learned that if you can dial down that voice, there's another version, an alter ego that can provide solace. She was so impressed with her discovery that she wrote a book about it: Sleepless, a work that also details the lives of accomplished artists who allowed their creativity to shine at night.New research notes that the brain can rewire itself at night, she said. "Things happen in the brain at night that make us think differently than we do during the day, said Abbs-Streets.Instead of rushing out to get sleeping pills, those who find themselves waking up at night should try to unleash the power of the night brain, suggests the London-based writer. Abbs-Streets has produced both works of fiction and non-fiction including 52 Ways to Walk (a previous Read Beat interview). When she wakes up now in the middle of the night, she tells Steve Tarter "I light my candle and get my notebook out and start scribbling away. I find that after that I go back to sleep."