Customer Reviews

Sleep, Interrupted: A physician reveals the #1 reason why so many of us are sick and tired

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I confess to being disappointed. I read the book after being diagnosed (and treated for) sleep apnea and I was looking for a deeper understanding of why I have it and what I can do to be less tired. The vast majority of the book seems devoted to trying to convince the reader that poor sleep can be a cause of just about every disease or problem a person can have. It's only at the very end of the book that any suggestions are made, and most of them struck me as either obvious (the standard litany of sleep hygiene suggestions such as go to bed at the same time every night), impractical (arrange your schedule so you can get a long sleep every night), or lacking detail.

However, if you feel unwell and unrested and you don't know why, then this book would be a good resource for you. It will help you make the connection between your rest and your other symptoms and might help you frame your problems in a way to present them to your doctor so he or she can order a sleep study.

If you're already aware that you have sleep issues and that they affect you and you want more information on how it all works, I recommend The Promise of Sleep instead
(http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Sleep-Medicine-Connection-Happiness/dp/0440509017/ref=sr_1_4?).ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243891237&sr=1-4

After searching for answers to assorted health issues, the ideas presented in SLEEP INTERUPTED make so much sense to me that I have my own sleep study appointment scheduled.

The information presented by Dr. Park is in clear and easy, conversational language for us lay-people to understand. He includes ample anecdotal examples to cement the ideas he presents.

If you or someone you care about is having sleep problems or unexplained health issues and don't know where to turn, I would recommend this book as an excellent starting point. It will definitely get you thinking about the possibilities.

Reading this book showed me how to take a huge step forward in my overall health.

I feel tired all the time. Worn out. I don't want to live this way and have been investigating all possibilities about its cause. Fatigue and sleep are obviously related, and I researched many sources trying to learn to improve my rest. I found Dr. Park's internet postings, and became very intrigued by his approach to diagnosing sleep problems, and the number of different solutions he could recommend. I pursued more of his writing on the net, and came across this Kindle book.

I categorically recommend that everyone, everyone, read this book. Kindle books are often impulse purchases, and yeah, maybe the price of this book is higher than most Kindle Books. But I'm absolutely positive that the information in this book will help you (or someone who will listen to you!) in an invaluable way. Get it, read it. It's like a "CPR course" for sleeping. Someday you will really help someone with what you know.

This book shows that, although we only have one word for "sleep", sleep itself is a vast array of different of mental and physical processes. All these processes must work together in order for me to wake up feeling good. If one of these processes malfunctions, symptoms show up, not only as short term fatigue, but also in many other long term, seemingly unrelated, aches and pains.

"Sleep Interrupted" describes entire chain of sleep processes, and how sleep malfunctions show up. Dr. Park writes with great clarity and detail, and describes therapies specific to my problems. These aren't "warm milk" remedies. I sought a doctor's care to move forward. But even before I found the right doctor, learning what might be happening to me was a huge boost to my mood. I understood that I might have reasonable, measurable problems which can be fixed. I wasn't defective in some way, and doomed to eternal fatigue. Doctors' examinations since I finished the book have confirmed that I suffer from many of the phenomena Dr. Park describes. I'm very grateful for having found, and for being willing to spend the money to buy this book.

Sleep, Interrupted: A physician reveals the #1 reason why so many of us are sick and tired

"Sleep, Interrupted..." is an incredible must read for anyone with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). I've been suffering from OSA for well over 10-15 years and have never come upon any resource like this book and I've been looking regularly. After having visited Dr. Park as a new patient, I could also add that I've never come across a physician like him- but back to his book.
Sleep Interrupted really gets down to all the issues surrounding OSA and has a very balanced approach given that Dr. Park is a surgeon. What I've found in the past is that surgeons want to operate, dentists want to give you an oral appliance, and sleep doctors want and do give you a CPAP. Sleep docs in particular don't even go into surgery as much of an option and tell you to get on with using your CPAP even if you are ripping it off every night like I am. Park does an incredible job of going into the critical issues surrounding OSA and laying things out for you to decide (he does that same thing in his office). This book is just an opening really into the world of sleep and sleep apnea that Dr. Park is investigating and seemingly devoting much of his life to. It provides resources and contacts to further your own research which in my opinion is critical.
This book came out of no where for me. I was really very frustrated with the medical world in general on sleep and sleep doctors in particular. Technically, Dr. Park isn't a sleep doctor, but I can tell you this book goes way beyond what anybody else knows about OSA that I've been able to find - including sleep specialists.
My advice to anybody with OSA would be "stop thinking about it, go out and get this book and start reading. If you can't afford it, get it from the library." My library had a copy -end of story.

I have been suffering from headaches and fatigue for two years, and after my doctor asked about how I was sleeping, I was intrigued and I read this book and became convinced that a sleep disorder was a likely culprit. I talked with a sleep specialist and had a sleep study done, and it turns out I was right- I had two overlapping sleep disorders.

This is a very accessible but not condescending book about the effects of sleep disorders and the spectrum of their severity. It is a quick read, so you can get through it quickly and start to address your sleep issues right away. There is a good list of the symptoms and health problems caused by sleep disorders that are often associated with other health problems and therefore sleep may be overlooked. It is a broad range, and the author does a good job of explaining how sleep disorders can lead to these other health problems, not just saying that there is a connection but going into the mechanisms.

For more in depth coverage of sleep and sleep disorders I highly recommend Dr. Dement's "the Promise of Sleep," but that is a much longer and denser read (though very informative and interesting). There is clearly not enough knowledge of sleep disorders in the public and even among most physicians, I have learned from these books an my own experience. I never knew how much sleep disruption can be linked to so many health problems- not just fatigue, but high blood pressure, heart attacks, and so much more, yet poor sleep is often overlooked as the cause. If you or someone you know is always tired, or halts breathing in the night- get this book! It will convince you/them to do something about their sleep and improve their health.

I highly recommend this book. I am an atypical sleep apnea sufferer - young, thin and female. I never dreamed that my sleep problems could be caused by a sleep breathing disorder. Dr. Park gives clear explanations written in a conversational tone on why someone may be predisposed to this disorder. He also gives practical solutions and discusses treatments and surgical options. I've reread this book several times and recommend it to anyone who wonders why they feel so sleepy/fatigued.

I found the book quite valuable. For my own personal ailments - what I had previously viewed as completely separate issues, I now see as interrelated. Dr. Park's book helped me make that connection. I very much hope his follow up to this book offers a practical directive on diet and exercise, as well as new findings on sleep and breathing disorders.

As I began to read Dr. Park's informative and practical book, I had the feeling that I was reading a personal letter addressed to me from the doctor. It seemed that he knew exactly of the struggles and frustration that people with obstructive sleep apnea or upper airway resistance syndrome experience on a daily basis. Moreover, his insights on the Sleep-Breathing Paradigm are nothing short of profound. Yet in addition to the medical analysis, the book is highly practical as well and I implemented several of his suggestions on the first night.

Dr. Park delves into the causes, anatomy, and consequences of unrefreshing sleep in an easy to read, yet detailed style. Anyone struggling with poor quality sleep will benefit from reading this book. I know that I did.

There are a number of good books available on the subject of sleep apnea.

Some are written by patients and others by people who specialize in treating sleep disorders. Most have something useful to offer the person interested in understanding a common, yet under-diagnosed, medical disorder.

Sleep, Interrupted is an excellent addition to this body of literature. Unlike others written by physicians or sleep professionals, Sleep, Interrupted is written by a doctor trained in otolaryngology - an ear, nose and throat surgeon - someone very familiar with the part of the body where sleep apnea frequently occurs.

Dr. Park's Sleep-Breathing Paradigm lays out exactly what is happening and the consequences of sleep interrupted by obstructive sleep apnea.

Physicians and the general public will definitely benefit from the perspective Dr. Park has to offer on a condition if left untreated is serious and potentially life-threatening.

I must admit that I couldn't put the book down before I was finished reading. In my opinion Steven Park is quite unique. The book offers many surprising descriptions of sleep disorders and provides a good insight into them. And his book is very easy to understand without any medical background.

After I had read a number of his posts on the American Sleep Apnea Association's support forum, I just HAD to read his book.

What I see as the most important thing in his message is that doctors should look at the whole person, not just at individual diseases. Although he is an ENT surgeon, he has a very broad experience in sleep disorders including Sleep Apnea, and he doesn't look at the problems only from a surgeon's point of view. (On the contrary)

This is THE BOOK if you have trouble sleeping, or for someone you know who has sleep problems.

But this book is also for physicians and I have therefore given one of his books to my ENT. I believe that if his "New Sleep Breathing Paradigm" was used by a broader group of physicians, it would be a major step forward in sleep medicine.