Promise of Sleep

Plot

Amazon.com Review "We are a sleep-sick society," says William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D. According to Dr. Dement, "sleep science" has yielded a great deal of scientific knowledge about sleep--yet the general public, and even doctors, aren't aware of it. Sleep disorders are routinely misdiagnosed or ignored, sometimes resulting in medical tragedy and death, frequently leading to chronic exhaustion. In The Promise of Sleep, Dr. Dement aims to remedy that by making the latest sleep information accessible to health professionals and lay readers. He describes the sleep cycle and gives a short history of sleep research. Then he dives into clear and detailed explanations of concepts and conditions we've all heard about, but that few of us understand: sleep debt, biological clock, circadian rhythm, insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy. He discusses why we need sleep (sounds obvious, but it isn't) and the role of dreams. After 300 pages of sleep facts, Dr. Dement teaches you how to "reclaim healthy sleep" in your own life. You learn to assess your personal sleep situation by keeping a sleep diary, measuring your sleep debt, and evaluating your risk of sleep disorders; find appropriate treatment; manage sleep crises; and adopt a "sleep-smart lifestyle." A three-week "sleep camp" program at the end helps you put all the strategies together. This book will put you to sleep--and that's meant as praise! --Joan Price Product Description SLEEP BETTER, LIVE LONGER WITH THE GROUNDBREAKING INFORMATION AND STEP-BY-STEP PROGRAM IN THIS REVOLUTIONARY AUDIOBOOK Healthful sleep has been empirically proven to be the single most important factor in predicting longevity, more influential than diet, exercise, or heredity. And yet we are a sleep-sick society, ignorant of the facts of sleep -- and the price of sleep deprivation. Dr. William Dement, founder and director of the Stanford University Sleep Research Center, takes us on a fascinating tour of the sleeping body and mind, revealing the price we pay for ignoring sleep -- an epidemic of heart disease, 33 percent of traffic-fatigue-related accidents and immeasurable mental and psychological disadvantages. Dr. Dement offers a hands-on prescription for vibrant good health and longevity, including: self-tests to determine how much sleep you really need; information on the role of prescription and over-the-counter sleeping aids; the latest research on how sleep affects the immune system; how to combat insomnia, snoring, jet-lag; and much more. From Library Journal Wake up, America! After four decades of sleep research, Dement, the grand old man in this field, wrote this book to penetrate the public consciousness with what is factually known about sleep. He states that the world is living in such a perpetual state of sleep deprivation that we have come to accept it as the norm. Dement makes a convincing case for lack of sleep being the hidden cause of many accidents and deaths, including the infamous Exxon Valdez disaster. His chilling description of the effects of apnea will motivate readers who snore to see their physicians. He also details what is known about dreams, insomnia, and rare, fascinating disorders such as narcolepsy, sometimes in exhaustive detail. The last section details how to regain the healthy sleep many remember from their childhood and includes a list of sleep centers for more serious problems. This title should be a part of all consumer health collections.-Kelly Hensley, Sherrod, East Tennessee State Univ Lib., Johnson CityCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Publishers Weekly America is in the midst of an epidemic of sleep disorders, according to Dement, a sleep researcher since 1952, the founder the world's first sleep-disorder clinic and past chairman of a commission that presented a report to Congress in 1992, "Wake Up America! A National Sleep Alert." But for all the general population knows about the principles of healthy sleep, he la