Insomniac (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: continuing medical education, down with the beast, sleep conference, United States, Peter Hauri, New York Times (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. No one can describe a journey better than someone who's made the trip, and insomniac Greene's exploration of the disorder is both fascinating and disturbing. Many people, including doctors and insomniacs themselves, believe that sleeplessness is the patient's fault: too much caffeine and stress, irregular bedtimes, lack of exercise. In fact, no one knows what causes it, but the effects of insomnia are clear: as Greene, a professor of literature and women's studies at Scripps College, shows, sleep deprivation kills creativity, reduces levels of the hormones needed to repair cells and is directly linked to weight gain and memory loss, high blood pressure and diabetes. Insomniacs are usually referred to mental health practitioners or the growing number of sleep labs offering behavior modification or drugs (which, for Greene, have always buil[t] tolerance, and rapidly, necessitating ever-larger doses). This is a somewhat cranky book, Greene admits, and rightly so. You can't live with this problem as long as I have, you can't be blown off and written off as many times as I have, and not get cross. Supplementing her own experience with that of other chronic insomniacs and a look at the science of sleep, Greene offers an enjoyable and informative account that will provoke even readers who get their full eight hours a night. (Mar.)
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Review

"Greene's book is the best available on the subject."--New England Journal of Medicine

"Insomniac is far too interesting to lull you into dreamland."--O: the Oprah Magazine

"A harrowing memoir."--Wall Street Journal

"Provides . . . insights that many sleep researchers and doctors have lost track of. . . . Among the best books of its kind."--Nature

"Greene imparts a feeling of solidarity to fellow sufferers."--Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 520 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (March 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520246306
• ISBN-13: 978-0520246300
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,444 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meaningful sleep deficit, February 6, 2008

By	Laura L. Mays Hoopes "woman in science" (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Greene embarked on the trail of sleep, having sought it in vain in her own life. If you've ever had an insomniac friend or co-worker, you need to read this book. You'll see yourself in the repeated pseudohelpful comments she has received. Greene didn't stop with friends,relations, and the internet sites for the sleepless, she looked for answers in every conceivable realm. One of the most amusing of her chapters shows her approaching sleep scientists at a national meeting and being rebuffed once they realized she was a lay person. Greene listened to talks and read papers anyway, and came away with a profound understanding of what the biologists do not know. In Insomniac, she made an eloquent argument for Insomniacs Unlimited to form and ACT UP! Evidently "it's all in your head" has been far too convenient a diagnosis, and Greene believes a serious search for a molecular mechanism would be timely and productive. I predict most readers will agree. She does not blind you with science, but includes a soupcon of clearly explained brain function from time to time, with clear quagmire warnings. Her description of living with insomnia will make you cry. Well worth reading!

78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond saying "no" to naps, February 6, 2008

By	Lois Maharg - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gayle Greene does a first-rate job of putting a human face on insomnia, an affliction often described in dry, impersonal terms. A lifelong insomniac, Greene approaches her subject not from the strictly medical perspective proffered in self-help books but from the perspective of one who has been there and done that - and has a great deal to say about aspects of insomnia which ordinarily are overlooked. She speaks with conviction and her voice is consistent throughout the book. This is no mean feat: Greene integrates her own story and the narratives of other insomniacs with lots of scientific material. Her language is clean and jargon-free, and passionate and analytical, by turns -- exactly what one looks for in a work that aims to inform and persuade.

In addition, Greene's book offers a powerful critique of a medical establishment that historically has regarded insomnia as "all in the head." In fact, the physiological underpinnings of insomnia are what most insomniacs are waiting to hear about. Yet research in this important area has lagged. Greene's book gives us the inside scoop on why. She attended conferences on sleep disorders and gathered a wealth of information, including the sort of candid comments scientists are usually loath to make in public. Greene questioned the experts face to face, and their responses -- and the nonverbal messages they conveyed -- speak volumes. They're entertaining, too!

Any insomnia sufferer will find plenty of food for thought here. Insomniacs who have felt misunderstood or blamed will feel legitimized in reading Greene's account of her and others' experiences as they struggle to cope. Readers may also want to take some of Greene's suggestions for wooing sleep and try them out for themselves.

Finally, Greene's book poses a challenge to those who are conducting insomnia research. Will scientists in positions of power take note of the funding changes she proposes? Perhaps, she suggests, it's time for insomniacs to organize and push for them ourselves.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you, Gayle Greene!, March 25, 2008

By	Barbara Heath - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a wonderful book! I actually tried to slow down at the end so I wouldn't finish it. It is not a book of cumbersome suggestions/rules about how you should be able to "conquer" insomnia. (How tired are we of hearing "keep to a regular sleep schedule, don't nap, don't use the bed for anything but sleep or sex, etc., etc. As though we didn't know all this stuff already.) There are no elaborate sleep schedule diaries, no promises about sleeping perfectly in 6 weeks if you only adhere to her rules.

No, if you are looking primarily for another self-help book, this is not it (thank goodness). Instead, this is a book about the science and history, even philosophy, of sleep disturbance. It discusses the progress (or not) of sleep research efforts. The chapters where the author attends sleep conferences are informative, maddening, and sometimes terribly funny. There is a chapter called "Bedding down the beast" with modest suggestions of things to do that have helped her through the years, but they are not pronouncements from on high: just suggestions.

I personally will treasure this book and re-read it many times. Besides being informative and helpful, "Insomniac" is a lot of fun to read. And Gayle Greene is a person you really get to know - what a pleasure!