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Sleep Sense: Improve your sleep, improve your health
Sleep is fundamental to our health and well being. In Sleep Sense, international sleep expert Dr. Katharina Lederle draws on the latest research to explore how sleep is connected to each of the three pillars of successful living: physical health, cognitive performance, and emotional well-being. And since the three pillars are interconnected, if one is weakened, our overall health can easily be undermined.
The first part of the book takes readers on a tour of the most essential information for understanding sleep. How and where it is generated and regulated; why light is so important for sleep, and how sleep differs between the genders. It also touches briefly upon dreaming, highlighting that it is normal to dream and perhaps useful to reflect a little on what we dream about.
The second part of the book looks in detail at how sleep affects each of the three pillars, explains sleep disorders, and sets out a ‘menu’ of healthy sleep options from which readers can choose in order to establish healthy sleep habits that best fit their life. The result is a book that both informs and educates as it sets out clear guidelines and practical advice on how you can achieve improved health through improved sleep.
The first part of the book takes readers on a tour of the most essential information for understanding sleep. How and where it is generated and regulated; why light is so important for sleep, and how sleep differs between the genders. It also touches briefly upon dreaming, highlighting that it is normal to dream and perhaps useful to reflect a little on what we dream about.
The second part of the book looks in detail at how sleep affects each of the three pillars, explains sleep disorders, and sets out a ‘menu’ of healthy sleep options from which readers can choose in order to establish healthy sleep habits that best fit their life. The result is a book that both informs and educates as it sets out clear guidelines and practical advice on how you can achieve improved health through improved sleep.
- GenresNonfiction
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 5, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 17, 2022
Well written and easy to understand more about something very important for health in general. Learned quite a lot and sparked an interest to learn more about sleep. Have struggled with sleep (nightmares/ sleep hallucinations/sleep paralysis) for a long time but never really had an interest to learn more about it
December 18, 2020
Great book, very informative for the layperson and incredibly easy to understand and learn from
February 1, 2019
An insightful and valuable guide to those who have sleep problems and wish to understand more about this vital part of our lives.
August 21, 2022
nothing revolutionary compared to other books but definitely one of the more complete “pop” sleep books
December 11, 2022
3.75/5
Adequate sleep is a long game.
Main takeaways:
1) The biological purpose of sleep is still not fully understood, but it's clear that it has to do with restoring both the body's immune system and the brain's memory stores
2) When we're short on sleep:
- it's easier to catch colds and other diseases
- we struggle with decision-making
- simple motor functions become measurably less efficient
3) The more consistency we can achieve in our overall sleep patterns, the better we're able to recover from occasional lapses in sleep quality: a daily pattern of good sleep hygiene - getting out into the daylight, not eating late, respecting the sleeping space - helps provide a sleep credit store that we can rely on, even on those days we drop our best habits
4) To discover your natural rhythms, try forgoing alcohol, caffeine, and alarms for a week, and see what happens
Actionable advice: Maintain a strategic approach to your sleep-life:
a) if you're up late, limit your lie-in to around an hour after your usual get-up time;
b) aim for consistency over the year, not just the week.
Your 'sleept debt' will even itself out.
Adequate sleep is a long game.
Main takeaways:
1) The biological purpose of sleep is still not fully understood, but it's clear that it has to do with restoring both the body's immune system and the brain's memory stores
2) When we're short on sleep:
- it's easier to catch colds and other diseases
- we struggle with decision-making
- simple motor functions become measurably less efficient
3) The more consistency we can achieve in our overall sleep patterns, the better we're able to recover from occasional lapses in sleep quality: a daily pattern of good sleep hygiene - getting out into the daylight, not eating late, respecting the sleeping space - helps provide a sleep credit store that we can rely on, even on those days we drop our best habits
4) To discover your natural rhythms, try forgoing alcohol, caffeine, and alarms for a week, and see what happens
Actionable advice: Maintain a strategic approach to your sleep-life:
a) if you're up late, limit your lie-in to around an hour after your usual get-up time;
b) aim for consistency over the year, not just the week.
Your 'sleept debt' will even itself out.
July 22, 2024
Sleep is good. Bad sleep is bad. Helpful & simple. This was not a book on gender but it did explain gender differences in sleep and sleep disorders - and so I was again reminded of why a 30-day hormonal cycle is scientifically more annoying than a 24hr cycle. I mostly read it as a kick up the backside to just sleep better, and (to no ones surprise) 7-8hrs feels way better than 5-6hrs !
August 2, 2025
Interesting
December 28, 2021
Very informative.
April 8, 2019
Nothing ground breaking in this book, though it can serve as a good reminder for what good sleep habits are and how to incorporate them into your life.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews