Sleep Thieves (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The man who wrote these words in his diary was not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or medical researcher..." (more)
Key Phrases: sleep debt, afternoon sleepiness, average sleepers, United States, New York, Peter Tripp (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

While Coren's (psychology, Univ. of British Columbia) main thesis is that we Americans are becoming an ever-more-exhausted and accident-prone society due to "sleep debt," his fascinating book is also an in-depth look at this mysterious activity in which we all must, by nature, engage. Coren, author of the best-selling The Intelligence of Dogs (LJ 3/15/94), sees much peril in the fact that we are sleeping less, sleeping oddly, and think we can get away with it. He takes the reader on a journey into the world of sleep, keeping the scientific jargon to a manageable minimum without sacrificing the integrity of his work. One is impressed with the facts he lays out, though he makes clear that sleep remains a necessary but still very mysterious realm of human experience. After taking us through chapters detailing what scientists have come to know about sleep and the sleep experience, he tackles sleep problems, including insomnia, and details with alarming anecdotal and statistical evidence what progressively less sleep is buying us, both as individuals and as a society. Many chapters also offer tips, hints, and questionnaires dealing with different aspects of sleep. This is a well-written, easy-to-understand book on a complex scientific subject to which everyone can relate. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.?David M. Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., Boston
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Coren conveys a vast amount of information about sleep with a lively feeling for the research that amassed it. He explores the basic body cycles and their effects on sleep, and he describes the human "internal clock" and the confusions arising from adjusting its 25-hour cycle to the requirements of the 24-hour day. His main theme, though, is sleep deprivation. The average person should sleep between 9 1/2 and 10 hours a night, it seems--a need Coren stresses by citing many effects of lessened sleep time, one of the most striking of which is the increase in fatal accidents during the days following the spring change to daylight saving time (there is a corresponding decrease when standard time resumes in the fall). As some frightening stories Coren tells attest, long-distance truck drivers, medical interns and residents, and nuclear plant workers especially suffer from lessened sleep. As Coren stresses elsewhere, sleep is also a vital factor in the body's ability to fight off disease. Despite the topic, few will fall asleep reading this book. William Beatty --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (April 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684831848
• ISBN-13: 978-0684831848
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #271,970 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 3, 2000

By	Barbara - See all my reviews

I ordered this book just because Dr. Coren is my favorite author (How To Speak Dog, The Intelligence Of The Dogs, Why We Love The Dogs We Do). I was certain that I would find this book very interesting, and I wasn't wrong. This book is truly wonderful. He explains how many hours should we sleep and what happens to us if we don't. How our mental and physical health depends on sleep, and gives advices as to how to improve the quality of our sleep.

There is a test you can perform in order to understand how many hours of sleep you need. It's just great.

I wish all doctors read this masterpiece and instead of giving Valium or whatever to people with sleeping disorders, were giving them advices taken from this book. Once more, thank you Mr.Coren

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing and informative!, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This is that rare book which is, incredibly, both a page-turner and full of top-rate science and information. I learned an immense amount from it and was entertained in the process. Among the great, keep-it-on-your-shelf for reference topics are: foods and their effect on sleep, how to minimize jet-lag, and how much sleep different species of animals get (look up cats!). It's also a great resource for winning arguments with self-righteous, sleep-deprived workaholics. I liked this book so much that I used it as reference material for an extra lecture in the college psychology class I teach.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A much-underestimated topic, March 23, 2003

By	Dr. Eduard Van Kleef (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sleep is one of the most common activities in our lives. As such, one would expect that everybody would know a lot about it.

This book shows that this is not the case. Our western work-ethos has led us to believe that sleeping is for weaklings and that sleeping very little is a sign of discipline and diligence . This book is full of examples of the results of that attitude. As a renowned researcher into the science of sleep, the Author is able to list a considerable number of instances where a lack of sleep did not only lead to less productivity, but led to downright disasters such as the sinking of the "Exxon Valdez" or the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

I found that the book gives a real insight into the importance of obtaining enough sleep. In my case, I found it convincing enough to change some of my habits and go to bed earlier, if need be. As the author shows, a like change throughout society might safe us billions of dollars per year.