Customer Reviews

The Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night's Sleep (Harvard Medical School Guides)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As part of the Harvard Medical School Guides, this book comes with considerable stature. It begins with an excellent chapter on the ABC's of sleep in which the science of sleep is discussed. In particular, the various types of brain waves and stages of sleep are examined. The following chapter deals with how much sleep we need; the author states that on the average Americans get 6.9 hours a night, and needs about 7.5. He emphasizes however, that there is a relatively large range in people. A particularly interesting chapter is one on sleep "myths," and one of the myths he explores is whether or not you need less sleep as you age.
A central feature of the book is a 6 step plan for better sleep. This includes such things as a healthy lifestyle, maintaining good sleep habits, and watching for sleep sabateurs. He also has a long section on various sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea,and narcolepsy, and he does a good job of discussing each. In particular, he suggests treatments for each.
His discussion of sleep medications is more complete than those in most sleep books. He talks about most of the medications on the market, both over-the-counter and prescription, and he give his opinion of many of them. Like most sleep specialist, he does not strongly recommend sleeping pills, but points out the they do have their place. He also discusses herbs such as valerian and melatonin.
Overall the book contains a lot of useful information, and of course the author is a sleep specialist. It contains a more detailed discussion of the science behind sleep than "Good Night" by Michael Breus, and in general compares well with it. Although the two books cover many of the same topics, they compliment one another. One slight drawback is that it has no bibliography.
Barry Parker Ph.D. Author of "Feel Great Feel Alive."

There are a lot of sleep books out there, but this one is unique in presenting the latest research in a readable style. And it covers a wide variety of topics, from infant and child sleep patterns to problems common in seniors ... and everything in between. Whether you suffer from sleep problems yourself or struggle with a snoring partner, a colicky baby, or a sleep-deprived teen, you are bound to find answers here. My whole family bought this book-- three generations -- and we all sleep better now.

It's tough to beat the credentials of the Harvard Medical School in the very crowded sleep category, and this volume meets expectations. Other reviewers here have described the contents well. And, the author's basic approach appears on the back cover, and is well described in the textual material.

Turn your bedroom into the optimal sleep environment
Finally overcome insomnia
Silence buzz-saw snoring
Relax restless legs
Deal with daytime exhaustion
Determine if sleep medication is right for you
Improve your sleep by improving your child's sleep

This approach is certainly good for people who do not travel often, and some of the ideas would carry over when you aren't sleeping at home. Learning how to fall asleep anywhere anytime is a great benefit for travelers. It can also be very helpful as one ages when it seems to be harder and harder to get to sleep.

Years ago I learned how to fall asleep, any time, anywhere I want to.

People often ask for the technique. I give them a copy of this book to be sure they have access to top flight science on the subject, and also the attached description of my personal technique. It works for me, but your mileage may vary.

Robert C. Ross 2008

excellent coverage of normal sleep physiology. great on normal sleep needs, ways to recognize deficits (which can be sneaky) and ways to improve the chances for adequate sleep. common sleep disorders - recognition and treatment. a wonderful primer on all aspects of sleep health. some surprising statistics on the public health aspects of sleep: you will be amazed at how many people are affected by problems with sleep and how these affects manifest themselves.

This book did exactly what I wanted it to do for me:

1) Solve my sleepping problems
2) Inform me on the importance of sleeping and the causes of sleeping problems

The book is written in a clear and direct way and the author makes sure the reader is able to understand the importance of sleeping and how to solve your sleeping problems.

I advise this one to anyone with sleeping problems or interested in the importance of sleeping. I surely didn't have a sleepless night after reading this book.

I have sleep apnea and have been struggling to adapt to the CPAP mask. I've questioned the whole business of sleep therapy and whether using the CPAP mask every night for the rest of my life was justified or effective.
Dr. Epstein's book lays it on the line. It appears to be a remarkable summary of the research, making the case for sleep therapy of many kinds, but is especially strong on sleep apnea.
I really got the idea that the book was written on two levels. First, it is authoritative enough for MD reading. Second, it is clear enough for patients to read.
My mental struggle with the CPAP therapy has been going on for two years. After reading this book, the prospect of wearing the mask for the rest of my life doesn't seem onerous at all. Reduced risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and car collisions.
There are many other important topics addressed as well. And its hard to imagine a better source.
Invaluable.

Purchased this after a couple of restless nights, thinking I would never get back to having normal sleep again. Anybody who has had a sleep issue, even for just a little while, can relate, I'm sure.

Good book. Detailed but not so much that you have no idea what its talking about. All the main sleep issues are covered, including Restless Leg Syndrome. Also some good info on common sleep drugs.

Some good advice on how to get a better sleep. Beyond that though, I found the book quite interesting. It's fascinating at all the research that is done on sleep and what we're not learning about it.

If nothing else, this book made me appreciate sleep even more!

After having finished the book, I could summarize its impression in one sentence: there is nothing wrong with the book. That's why I gave an average or three stars to this product. In other words, it was not particularly terrible but offered me no new information in the arsenal of sleep.

I'm always eager to improve my knowledge in health and wellbeing. So I bought this book, hoping to gain useful "beyond conventional wisdom" type of knowledge in sleep, though I don't suffer from a sleep disorder or work shifts.

I was really hoping that the book addressed the power of sleep from a preventive medicine/anti-aging perspective. For example, many of us have probably heard or read that the body makes the peak amount of the human growth hormone (HGH) during 12am and 2am. Thus, we are advised to go to bed before midnight to maximize the release of HGH. I've been curious that given that there are different patterns of sleep preference among people (larks, hummingbirds, and owls), whether the release pattern of HGH also depends on your sleep preference - i.e. if you are an owl, your body's HGH production peaks later than 12am, thus defying the conventional wisdom of "go to be before midnight".

The book gave no insight for such curiosity from preventive perspective, but does a good job of listing and describing major sleep disorders and conventional therapies for each of them, including behavioral therapies, cognitive therapies, and medications.

Given that, this book is probably suited for a clinical researcher or family physician who wants t a good reference to find a therapy for a particular sleep disorder.

However, if you are interested in a preventive/anti-aging perspective as I am, this book doesn't offer a great insight.

This is a great book if you desire to do some serious sleep research! We all need to sleep and it's great to find a book that covers all aspects of sleep and tips on how to achieve optimal sleep results. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and the author covers this sleep disorder as well and gave me great insight to my condition. I highly recommend this book!

Review of the physiology of sleep. I had purchased for a research project and this was did not report new information from what I was able to find online without purchasing