Book excerpt: Sleep-related complaints are extremely common across the spectrum of psychiatric illness. Accurate diagnosis and management of sleep disturbances requires an understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying sleep and wakefulness, the characteristics of sleep disturbance inherent to psychiatric illness and primary sleep disorders, as well as the psychopharmacologic and behavioral treatments available. Foundations of Psychiatric Sleep Medicine provides a uniquely accessible, practical, and expert summary of current clinical concepts at the sleep-psychiatry interface. Topics covered include: basic principles in sleep science, clinical sleep history taking, primary sleep disorders in psychiatric contexts, and sleep disturbance across a range of mood, anxiety, psychotic, substance use, cognitive and developmental disorders. Written by outstanding experts in the field of sleep medicine and psychiatry, this academically rigorous and clinically useful text is an essential resource for psychiatrists, psychologists and other health professionals interested in the relationship between sleep and mental illness.