The Mindful Way to a Good Night's Sleep: Discover How to Use Dreamwork, Meditation, and Journaling to Sleep Deeply and Wake Up Well

by Tzivia Gover

This accessible guide to cultivating deep, restful sleep — naturally — combines author Tzivia Gover’s expertise in both mindfulness and dreamwork. Accompanied by a healthy dose of encouragement, Gover presents practical lifestyle advice, simple yoga poses, 10-minute meditations, and easy breathing exercises, along with visualization and journaling activities. You’ll also learn how to cultivate your dream recall and set the scene for safe, productive dreaming. This holistic approach extends into your waking hours with tips on morning routines to ensure that sound sleep leads to refreshed, more conscious living all day long.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Health, Adult

184 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2017

Reviews

[Wendi Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

For most of my life, I was on bff terms with sleep. I fell asleep easily, stayed asleep, and remembered at least one dream per night. But my daughter, now a toddler, changed that. She has trouble sleeping through the night, even now, which means that I have trouble sleeping through the night. What sleep we do get needs to be restorative. So I was excited to read The Mindful Way to a Good Night's Sleep.

I really liked the tips Gover has for quieting your mind, and making your bedroom a safe place for rest and dreams. I am bad at self-meditation as well as yoga, but there were many interesting suggestions for incorporating these aspects into your sleep routine.

There is a lot in this book about dreaming, lucid dreaming, journaling about your dreams, and making sense of nightmares. There is also reassurances for those of us who don't remember our dreams, and exercises to recall them.

Another lovely aspect of this book is the way gratefulness is incorporated into this book. Spending a bit of time to give thanks for what is truly important in our lives, is something I often forget to do. I'm glad for the reminder to slow down, reflect, and express gratitude.

*Thank you to Storey Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC*

[Marjorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my never-ending quest for a solution to my insomnia, I thought this would be an excellent book for me. I have been learning more about mindfulness and meditation so wanted to implement this in my sleep habits. I was disappointed, though, that while mindfulness and meditation are touched on, most of the book centers on dreamwork and journaling, which is not something I really want to do. The meditation, breathing exercises, before bed routines and yoga poses were all known to me. As for what was mentioned about mindfulness and meditation, there was nothing new that I could use. So unfortunately this book wasn’t a good fit for me.

All that being said, it’s really a lovely book, beautifully designed and written in a very gentle way. I’m sure it would be of most benefit to someone looking to work out their dreams by writing in a journal or new to mindfulness and meditation. Personally, if I were to write in a journal to record a dream upon waking in the night, I would never fall asleep again. But I’m sure there are some people who would benefit from that practice. Of course, if you can remember the dream in the morning, the journal could be used then. According to the book, it’s the understanding of dreams that can help us accept our situation in life and will lead to more peaceful sleep patterns. I strongly recommend that if you’re interested in purchasing this book, buy the paperback and not the e-book. Some of the pages were slow to load due to the design and there are pages included at the end of the book for your adding of personal comments. I would like to see a copy of this paperback as I’m sure it would be quite lovely. There are beautiful quotes about sleep throughout the book.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

[Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Gallery for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The aim of this book is to show the reader how to, with the use of some mindfulness techniques, learn to sleep better. It provides some clear instructions on how to wind down, go to bed and fall asleep more mindfully and more efficiently. The parts concerned with falling asleep and waking up are the most interesting by far and contain helpful information. Importantly, the author emphasises that her book is not a step-by-step guide, but, rather, a set of ideas that should help the reader to re-arrange their sleeping patterns.

A large chunk of the book is also devoted to importance of dreams and I have to confess I didn't find it that interesting. While keeping a dream journal may be helpful to some, it isn't for me, and the same goes for attempts at lucid dreaming.

The book looks very pretty, it is very nicely edited and designed. It's definitely a very nice idea for a gift for someone who is interested in more mindful approach to life.

[Irida · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not just a book about sleep problems, but rather a book that educates us about what is required for a good night sleep. Gover, not only teaches the reader about the science of sleep and dreams, but also addresses the issues of modern times like our connectivity to our gadgets that are also taking prominent spots in our bedrooms and causing sleep problems for many of us.
She refocuses the reader back to the purpose of the bedroom and gives ideas how we can create a physical environment conducive to better sleep and the mental adjustments and preparation for a good night sleep, such as banning electronics from the bedroom, having a before bedtime routine that may include thinking positive thoughts or listening to Lullabies. Personally I like to listen to New Age music from composers such as Corciolli or the Liquid Mind CD. I also enjoy guided sleep meditations.
To get you settled down to sleep, she offers practices from yoga and meditation, which are easy to follow and try out. For those of us that are wondering about their dreams: not remembering, meaning of dreams, nightmares, she enlightens them with explanations and helps to ease their minds.
She also addresses wake up routines that help set up your day just right, such as breathing exercises and stretching and massage and the importance of a good and proper serving size breakfast to fuel our mind and body. She cleverly intertwines mindfulness and gratitude for having a new day and a new beginning upon rising.
We have all read articles about sleep and quality of good sleep, but she approaches it from a mindfulness perspective, which makes this book very relevant given the upsurge of mindfulness nowadays. Great idea to bring it to our bedroom and sleep habits.
This book is a book that you should read over time as it contains a lot of information. I will reread again many times over.

Thank you to Storey Publishing LLC and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

[Lynn P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely and well presented book which would be a great present. Unfortunately for me I had already done most of the tips in this book and didn't learn too much more. I'm not one for journalling thoughts so that part of the book did not appeal to me.
If you are looking to give someone good advice about sleep then this is the book to give them. Well laid out and nicely written.

[Dawnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a nice read with good tips if you are new to the "no-sleep" club.

Sadly i am not, so the "tips" this book has to offer? Are neither new or actually helpful to me personally. So if you are someone like i am that already read a good amount of this type of self-help books or articles because you have had the problems for a while this book might not be helpful for you at all.

I also didn't really love that this type of book has a good amount of religious aspects in it -with a good amount of mentioning of praying- which while i didn't mind it i think should be mentioned in the description OR genre of the book so that people know that they will be getting a book mentioning religious aspects since i do know a few people that would hate this book simply for that.

Other than that, the book is actually pretty good.
It has a nice mixture of tips and tricks,
I LOVED that it mentioned that trying to get better sleep is not just going to bed, but a whole experience of it starting throughout the day. So if you want to change your sleeping pattern you might have to change your pattern while being awake.

I do think that its a great book for people that recently started to have problems with going to sleep or getting a good sleep. So if you are one of those people OR if you know someone that is? this book is defiantly worth a try!

*Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for giving me a free e-copy of this book in exchange for a free and honest review!*

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really good suggestions about managing getting better sleep. I tried the meditation mind clearing exercise before I went to bed (not that I'm any where near an expert practitioner of meditation) and had some productive dreams. I also like the ideas in the book about how to fall back asleep and not let anxiety take over you. The rest of it was kinda general tips that could have been a long essay, not necessarily an entire book.

[MoMo Book Diary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this interesting and comprehensive book from Tzivia Gover.

I enjoyed the meditations and breathing exercises and loved the "beditations”.

I have since purchased a paperback copy of this book for myself and a friend.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Kate Alleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of reviews that were mad that this wasn't more than a beginner's look into dreamwork and meditation. But, I haven't read a lot on the subject, so it was a good beginner's guide for me.

[Sabrina Kaye Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I was a little girl, bed time was when my anxiety went through the roof. I recall having non-stop bad dreams about my family members dying or their heads floating because they detached themselves from their bodies. Once a snake even ate all of my Christmas presents and my family sat
there and laughed at me! You can see why I didn't exactly like sleeping as a child.

In response to that, I developed a myriad of mental illnesses, and in response to that...I decided that the most healthy thing for me to do was stay awake as much as I could. At least until I wore myself out so much I didn't even have to bother with bad dreams because I'd be too exhausted to remember them.

Now at 22, I can say sleep and I have a better understanding of one another. I still have nightmares, but I can deal with them better now. Occasionally. I won this book from a Shelf Awareness contest, and when I got it I immediately dived into it.

Gover incorporates a ton of tips for getting a good night's sleep into her book. She asks her readers questions that makes us think back to our dreams, and what they could mean for us. Her philosophy is that no matter how bad a dream may seem, there is always room for growth from them. Which makes sense! Obviously nightmares are manifesting from what we're dealing with in our every day lives, Gover just helps us along to figure out exactly what is going awry and gives us different ways to look at things in order to set our daily lives back on track.

The set up of the chapters and the incorporation of quotes about sleep are helpful in keeping the book light-hearted. It even propels you along so you're not sitting there re-reading a non-fiction book sentence three times over because that speficic line isn't sticking with you. Gover definitely has a way with words, and conjures up your past dreams to help you figure out what they mean.

In the back is even a mini dream journal to get you started on your journey. After reading this, I wrote a Facebook post to my friends simply asking, "What was the last dream you had?" I got an insane amount of responses, and I think it was also fun for everyone else to read about other people's dreams while getting feedback on their own.

Definitely a 10/10 book. Recommended for people who are into dreams, dream interpretation, or simply just want to start paying more attention to what their bodies and minds are telling them.

[Monica H (TeaandBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleep eludes many of us at one time or another. What can we do to sleep better? Then we also wonder about the dreams we have when we do sleep, what do they mean? Tzivia Gover writes an interesting interactive book, The Mindful Way to a Good Night's Sleep, that can help readers sleep better and discover what their dreams are trying to say.


The Mindful Way to a Good Night's Sleep is divided into three sections: A Good Night's Sleep, Sweet Dreams, and Good Morning. This book has some great quotes on dreamy looking pages, advice on your sleep environment and sleeping, journaling space with some good questions to make you think, great meditation exercises that are truly relaxing, and advice on starting your day off in such a way to have your best day possible. It is a real positive, fun and uplifting book.


I would encourage anyone interested in sleeping better and studying their dreams to read The Mindful Way to a Good Night's Sleep. It is fun, interesting reading and includes exercises in both journaling and meditation that are quite easy to do to help yourself both sleep better and to remember your dreams better. For my Christian readers, some of this book does lean towards Eastern religious philosophy. However, there is still a lot of good information and helpful exercises in this book that make it worthwhile for my Christian readers who want to sleep better and understand their dreams.


I received an electronic copy for review through NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for the book.

[Janet Barclay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad book. It’s short and sweet, at under 200 pages, and broken into lots of sections and subsections, making it easy to read. For such a small book, it covered a wide range of topics related to sleep and dreaming.

Some of the strategies were pretty basic. Is there anyone who hasn’t thought of making sure there bedroom is dark and quiet?

There were a few I can see myself trying, but some were a little woo-woo for me. Yes, I’d love to remember more details about my dreams, and I can see how writing what I remember down as soon as I wake up will help me to see patterns that might reveal what’s going on in my head. However, learning how to actively participate in my dreams so I can face my fears head on and conquer them really isn’t on my to-do list. Maybe I’d feel differently if my dreams were frightening or disturbing, but that’s rarely the case.

An excerpt from my blog post, The Mindful Way to a Good Night’s Sleep

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book over the span of a week, right before going to bed and I have noticed a slight improvement in my sleeping already.
To fully get the benefits of this book, I think you need to constantly work at all the advice given even though some of the advice can be hard to do for some people like me ie. not using any electronics before going to bed.
This book is split up into sections going through why getting a good night's sleep is beneficial, understanding your dreams and why we dream and how that affects our sleep to steps on how to actually get a good night's sleep.
I really enjoyed the journaling prompts given as well as the step by step guide to meditating.
I marked a lot of pages to look back on such as the breathing exercises which I found very helpful to help me in the future.
I also thought the sleep/dream quotes scattered throughout this book was a nice touch.
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first part of the book. The one about how to mindful go to sleep. I have a head that imagine all different scenarios right before I should go to sleep, preventing me from going to sleep peacefully and when I want. There was definitely some technics that I am going to try out.

The second part of the book was the largest and devoted to dreaming. I wished it would have focused some more on insomnia, troubles about waking up or the fact that people suffer from night terrors. I would love to learn to deal with those problems.

In the end there was a small part about waking up. That part could have had a lagrer part of the book, taking some spase from the dream section. All in all I liked the book, it is one I would liked to have at my night stand. There are some things I feel the book is missing and things it could take out, but it is still one of the better books I read about improving my sleep.

*Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While good for some, it wasn't for me. I picked this up because my husband & his sister are deep into the study of our (as a people) lack of sleep and how it affects our health and happiness.
This book is a dream journal (sorry, but I don't journal) and kindly advice. It does seem like a yogi/meditation answer book, a gentle arm across the shoulders.
But, I know/do all this stuff already, learned nothing new. (thus the not for me statement above)
There are plenty of folks who could benefit from reading this book - IF they take the advice. These are the same folks that look for improved mental & physical health, but don't listen to "eat well and exercise".
So I'm impressed Ms. Gover got this book published, and hope she does well with it, as the advice is sound and well-meaning. And it could help a lot of folks, if they just listen!

[Biblio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught my eye because my overwhelming anxiety has greatly affected the quantity and quality of sleep that I have been getting. The Mindful Way to a Good Night's Sleep appealed to me for its approach to sleep. I have been using yoga, exercise, and journaling, but never tried meditation and dreamwork.
Grover has organized The Mindful Way to a Good Night's Sleep into short chapters which easily lend themselves to a calming, relaxing short read as you unwind before bed. There are many physical and mental exercises that can be employed immediately. This is a great book to own and keep on your night stand to read, and reread, a little of each night.

[Christa Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always looking for hints about how to wake up rested, this book deals less with sleep problems than the idea of improvements. Gover talks about the role of dreams and gives suggestions on how to remember more of them and why you should keep track of things you see if your dreams. Many of the suggestions here are ways to increase possibility of seeing and remembering dreams and how to recognize the sleep cycle. Yes, a few hints on making sure your sleeping space is comfortable and things like that but mostly ways to up the quality of the sleep, not correct huge problems.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Um, if you're having trouble sleeping, are you even dreaming? Because I sure don't. So that means half this book is worthless, since it's all about journaling your dreams. Not what I was looking for.

This was too feel good and hippie-ish for me and too light on the science. Also, the 3M Cloud Library version of its seems like it's missing things. For example, she discusses yoga poses, but there aren't pictures of what those poses look like. Makes me wonder if they are there in the print version?

[Amy Eckert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I have very vivid dreams every night, and have for most of my life. I was hoping to be able to gain some tips on how to minimize them since I feel as though my sleep is not as restful as it could be. In one sense I was disappointed because this book did not help me in that way, but it did help me reframe my thinking of the gift of dreams, and that I could tap into them more to bringing about more clarity into my waking hours. I will definitely re-read this as there was so much information to remember in one read through.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the standard practical advice about getting a good nights sleep, wrapped up in every bit of woo woo nonsense you have ever heard or imagined. There is some good advice in here, it’s just completely overwhelmed by heaping piles of utter nonsense.

Several entire pages contain just a short ‘insightful’ quote. These include Bible verses, Beatles lyrics, and quotes from Sigmund Freud, Marilyn Monroe, and a yoga instructor.

(I received a free copy of this book through a giveaway on goodreads)

[Sarah Cass · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bunch of great tips and exercises to establish a good night's sleep. While it was good enough to read on kindle, this is one that's better done in print so you can truly get into the exercises given. Still, I enjoyed the reading and look forward to putting the tips into practice.

Copy received free via netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Vontel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have to admit I didn't read too much of this book, in spite of picking it up a couple of times and flipping through it, and then trying to focus and read the first few chapters. There wasn't really anything new here, just some lovely packaging, which increased the page count for the book. Returned to the library.

[Sara Codair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a while ago and never closed it out. Had some decent advice and some bad advice. But like all self help books, I think it's a very subjective topic and readers need to closely think about whether the advice offered would work for them or cause more problems. My favorite part was the journaling prompt.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book meanders through the world of sleep and dreams, and while parts of it are interesting, I think it's two disjointed and fuzzy to actually help those persons who are suffering from insomnia. There are some helpful parts which may be helpful to some, so take from it what you will.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just as the title says, this book has some great suggestions for ways to get a good night's sleep. Some are common sense and some are new interesting suggestions. (New to me, that is.) Simple meditation and relaxation exercises are described. The keeping of a dream journal is explained.

[Erin Lawwill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a great beginner book for someone looking to touch on mindfulness. It is light enough to reach most audiences from young adult to adult. I found some of it basic but overall enjoyed the approach and found it helpful to expand my nighttime mindfulness routine.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good advice about mindfulness techniques and breathing exercises to try before bed. Pretty useful.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing really I haven't heard already.

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

It meant well but I don’t see how journaling is going to help sleep

[Eileen Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good, thoughtful way in to getting a better night's sleep by accomplished dream therapist, Tzivia Gover.