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Set it & Forget it: Are you ready to transform your sleep?
Most books about sleep give you the same old Create a bedtime ritual, avoid screens, cut down on coffee, bla bla bla. If that’s the book you’re looking for, keep browsing the store.Set it & Forget it teaches you something new. Read it and you will understand why sleep hygiene is a trap, why giving up anything in the pursuit of getting more sleep is a bad idea and why nothing you tried has worked. Most importantly it will teach you what you should Much less than you think. Understand why you haven’t slept well, let go of habits that have gotten you stuck and sleep will come your way.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 24, 2020
162 people are currently reading
547 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Erichsen
10 books13 followersDaniel Erichsen is a graduate of the University of Chicago Sleep Medicine program and is currently faculty at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 3, 2024
Dr. Daniel Erichsen is the perfect combination of medical acumen, anecdotal experience, and level-headed empathy. This makes his approach to insomnia and sleep disorders the absolute best I've experienced so far. I'd recommend this book, and his YouTube channel, to anyone struggling with sleep!
October 16, 2022
Great Plan For Sleep!
I read this book in one day because I really liked the approach Erichsen uses in learning how to sleep well. His message is sincere and I'm excited to implement his suggestions. Don't let the grammar issues bother you too much. The book is so much more than being distracted by that. It's a quick read and presents a way of approaching sleep in a manner I hadn't ever considered.
I read this book in one day because I really liked the approach Erichsen uses in learning how to sleep well. His message is sincere and I'm excited to implement his suggestions. Don't let the grammar issues bother you too much. The book is so much more than being distracted by that. It's a quick read and presents a way of approaching sleep in a manner I hadn't ever considered.
June 30, 2024
Literally changed my life.
February 10, 2022
In my opinion, you could really cut the second half of the book. It was not clear to me how the second half was substantially different than the first half. It was also not clear to me why the book is titled "Set it & Forget it" (!!!). I kept waiting for that to be explained. Did I miss it? I read this book over a span of many, many nights while I was brushing my teeth. The kids are often running around at that time, being distracting. I might have missed it.
For the positives: I love the message. I liked the tiny little chapters/sections (perfect tooth brushing time book). I love the illustrations. The entire premise has a very Zen koan quality to it - or maybe just a mind game: "don't think about an elephant". But I like it. In fact, after I started reading the book, I saw other ways in which anxiety about a subject creates worse performance in that thing, leading to MORE anxiety...so the concept of an insomnia feedback loop seems perfectly reasonable to me.
It's a weird book and won't be for everyone, but I did like it and I do recommend it for anyone wanting a whole new way of looking at sleep.
For the positives: I love the message. I liked the tiny little chapters/sections (perfect tooth brushing time book). I love the illustrations. The entire premise has a very Zen koan quality to it - or maybe just a mind game: "don't think about an elephant". But I like it. In fact, after I started reading the book, I saw other ways in which anxiety about a subject creates worse performance in that thing, leading to MORE anxiety...so the concept of an insomnia feedback loop seems perfectly reasonable to me.
It's a weird book and won't be for everyone, but I did like it and I do recommend it for anyone wanting a whole new way of looking at sleep.
October 13, 2024
100% the only book you’ll ever need to fig your sleep issues.
As someone that has struggled for years with sleep, I’ve tried everything imaginable (except prescription medication) under the sun to fix my sleep. Supplements, temperature controllers, blackout curtains, supplements, sleep apps, sleep trackers, neurofeedback devices, and countless other products. None of these things helped. In retrospect they actually made things worse. I’m also a clinical mental health professional that is trained in administering CBT-I. I’ve had CBT-i as a patient and have worked with many patients in teaching them about this modality. The efficacy has been abysmal. Read this book. It explains why these attempts to fix our sleep IS THE PROBLEM. I discover Daniel Erichsen and his Sleep Coach School podcast approximately two weeks ago. I’ve read this book twice and created my playbook. I ditched all the sleep aids I’ve been using and immediately I’ve had much much better sleep (not perfect) than I’ve had in years. Yes years. If you’re struggling with insomnia and are at your breaking point this book is a solid lifeline.
As someone that has struggled for years with sleep, I’ve tried everything imaginable (except prescription medication) under the sun to fix my sleep. Supplements, temperature controllers, blackout curtains, supplements, sleep apps, sleep trackers, neurofeedback devices, and countless other products. None of these things helped. In retrospect they actually made things worse. I’m also a clinical mental health professional that is trained in administering CBT-I. I’ve had CBT-i as a patient and have worked with many patients in teaching them about this modality. The efficacy has been abysmal. Read this book. It explains why these attempts to fix our sleep IS THE PROBLEM. I discover Daniel Erichsen and his Sleep Coach School podcast approximately two weeks ago. I’ve read this book twice and created my playbook. I ditched all the sleep aids I’ve been using and immediately I’ve had much much better sleep (not perfect) than I’ve had in years. Yes years. If you’re struggling with insomnia and are at your breaking point this book is a solid lifeline.
December 1, 2022
makes a lot of sense
Wish I had read this book when my sleep issues started then maybe I could have curbed them without having to go on sleeping pills and then come off them which adds so much more stress to an already stressful situation
Wish I had read this book when my sleep issues started then maybe I could have curbed them without having to go on sleeping pills and then come off them which adds so much more stress to an already stressful situation
April 17, 2025
sehr hilfreiches Buch um insomnia besser zu verstehen. Hält auch den ein oder anderen Tipp außerhalb der Thematik bereit.
May 18, 2024
This book is very easy to read and makes so much sense. I truly believe the approach in this book is probably the most effective approach to insomnia. I found Dr. Daniel Erichsen before reading this book (his YouTube channel) and believe his descriptions to be very encouraging and accurate. He’s not trying to sell any products, but in my opinion, truly wants to help people sleep better in way that isn’t the traditional medication or CBTI model. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because the book does have quite a few typos and grammatical errors. It’s clear he put the book out on his own without a publisher or editor. For those who don’t already know of him, this might hurt his credibility. If you can get past these issues, I think you will love the book.
February 9, 2024
I first found this book by Daniel’s YouTube channel because he helped me with educating myself on leaving thoughts and patterns behind for better sleep. Even though currently I couldn’t sleep well for this past week and I feel shut down I realize it’s because I was forcing sleep and worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep because of my thoughts so I’m opening the hood and changing my ways and hopefully I can join his insomnia immunity program.
Daniel is very helpful and I keep in constant contact with him. I would HIGHLY recommend that you guys read this book if you’re struggling with insomnia!
Daniel is very helpful and I keep in constant contact with him. I would HIGHLY recommend that you guys read this book if you’re struggling with insomnia!
September 6, 2021
Great book, completely redefines how you think about sleep.
Anyone who struggles to sleep knows that eventually, any method that you employ will eventually and inevitably fail. Turns out there’s a reason for that. This book breaks it down at the most important issue for sleeping well is eliminating anxiety. It’s such an obvious idea when you hear it, but to hear it presented so well with such a concise and coherent argument really drive the point home. Can’t wait to “not” try out these techniques 😉. Recommended reading for anybody interested in sleeping better.
Anyone who struggles to sleep knows that eventually, any method that you employ will eventually and inevitably fail. Turns out there’s a reason for that. This book breaks it down at the most important issue for sleeping well is eliminating anxiety. It’s such an obvious idea when you hear it, but to hear it presented so well with such a concise and coherent argument really drive the point home. Can’t wait to “not” try out these techniques 😉. Recommended reading for anybody interested in sleeping better.
May 7, 2023
Ok so I skimmed it. But I really like this book. It focuses less on methods such as sleep deprivation or environment and more on anxiety reducing strategies. He debunks ideas such as “insomnia causes XYZ” using critical thinking. It is less about strategies and more about just embracing it. If you can call them strategies. It goes along with ACT-I I have been reading about.
If you are reading this review because you are awake in the middle of the night know that it’s gonna be ok :).
Highly recommend. I might even get my own copy since I picked this one up at the library ;).
If you are reading this review because you are awake in the middle of the night know that it’s gonna be ok :).
Highly recommend. I might even get my own copy since I picked this one up at the library ;).
January 12, 2024
I am very skeptical of this type of content. But I read the comments about the book, and I definitely felt I had to read it. It's a book about how to sleep well (if you're not someone who has trouble sleeping, you don't need to read it).
I feel like it changed my life, and it has really great results. I put it into practice these first two nights, and I feel it is the beginning of a life at peace with sleep. Highly recommended.
I feel like it changed my life, and it has really great results. I put it into practice these first two nights, and I feel it is the beginning of a life at peace with sleep. Highly recommended.
May 8, 2024
This book is great for anyone who has sleep anxiety insomnia and is terrified if not sleeping like me. After you get halfway through it is really repetitive though and really isn’t anything new. I think it is helping me to stop taking sleep medicine (zquil) It really has calmed my nerves a bit about having insomnia. It’s nice knowing I’m not the only one who deals with this kind of completely debilitating insomnia.
November 16, 2022
This book introduced some new ideas (for me) about insomnia. I’ve read several books and listened to scores of podcasts with little results. This book’s main idea - that the less you do, the better you sleep, has proven effective already. I expect to read this book more than once. The author also has a podcast on Spotify and YouTube.
August 21, 2023
If you ever truly endure a walk with insomnia drop all the rules you know and read this book !
February 11, 2024
Some of my fave books to read when I wake up in the early hours are books about sleep and insomnia, which in turn tell me why I’m waking up in the early hours to read books about sleep and insomnia. ‘Set it and forget it: Are you ready to transform your sleep' by Daniel Erichsen is a great book to help break that cycle.
I’ve had sleep problems for years but currently I have sleep maintenance insomnia, which means I wake up too early and can't drop off again. So the question I’m constantly asking myself is ‘How can I sleep through the night?’ I think this one many people will be familiar with.
After I awaken at 3: 33 or 4:44 am I fire up the laptop and crank up the ol’ google machine. I've convinced myself that there is one single thing I can do to improve my sleep, and godhelpme I was going to find it on the interweb. Invariably I end up on reddit /insomnia, perhaps the biggest warren of rabbit holes on the internet and that's saying something. The cast of ‘Watership down’ couldn't find their way out of this place.
But recently I got lucky on this nocturnal deep dive. Clicking thread after thread looking for this magic formula, I saw the name ‘thesleepcoach’ popping up a couple of times. By 5:55 I'd watched a couple of his youtube videos, ordered his book and already started to feel that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. But this isn’t the first time I've got my hopes up about an insomnia ‘cure’.
Sleep Hygiene And Hyper Arousal
‘Set it and forget it’ is divided into short easy to digest chapters with nice illustrations. Titles include ‘What is normal sleep?’ and ‘The gas and the brake’ and ‘The sleep hygiene trap’. This one in particular I found particular interesting as sleep hygiene is something I obsess over.
What I realised in this book was that all the things I was doing to help with my sleep (watching my diet/sleep mask/ear plugs/camomile tea/medication/Yoga Nidra etc etc etc) were actually hindering my ability to sleep. It’s all about sleep effort, and Daniel does a great job of explaining this in an easy and concise manner - even my bleary sleep deprived brain could decipher it. It's also evidence based, and the 'gas and brake '(video at end of post) is such an easy to undertand analogy, because there's nothing really complicated about this.
Full review at www.bookshelfdiscovery.com
I’ve had sleep problems for years but currently I have sleep maintenance insomnia, which means I wake up too early and can't drop off again. So the question I’m constantly asking myself is ‘How can I sleep through the night?’ I think this one many people will be familiar with.
After I awaken at 3: 33 or 4:44 am I fire up the laptop and crank up the ol’ google machine. I've convinced myself that there is one single thing I can do to improve my sleep, and godhelpme I was going to find it on the interweb. Invariably I end up on reddit /insomnia, perhaps the biggest warren of rabbit holes on the internet and that's saying something. The cast of ‘Watership down’ couldn't find their way out of this place.
But recently I got lucky on this nocturnal deep dive. Clicking thread after thread looking for this magic formula, I saw the name ‘thesleepcoach’ popping up a couple of times. By 5:55 I'd watched a couple of his youtube videos, ordered his book and already started to feel that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. But this isn’t the first time I've got my hopes up about an insomnia ‘cure’.
Sleep Hygiene And Hyper Arousal
‘Set it and forget it’ is divided into short easy to digest chapters with nice illustrations. Titles include ‘What is normal sleep?’ and ‘The gas and the brake’ and ‘The sleep hygiene trap’. This one in particular I found particular interesting as sleep hygiene is something I obsess over.
What I realised in this book was that all the things I was doing to help with my sleep (watching my diet/sleep mask/ear plugs/camomile tea/medication/Yoga Nidra etc etc etc) were actually hindering my ability to sleep. It’s all about sleep effort, and Daniel does a great job of explaining this in an easy and concise manner - even my bleary sleep deprived brain could decipher it. It's also evidence based, and the 'gas and brake '(video at end of post) is such an easy to undertand analogy, because there's nothing really complicated about this.
Full review at www.bookshelfdiscovery.com
November 10, 2024
**don't read this book if you're not insomniac, it can do you more harm than good**
I think I'll give it 3.5/5. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great book and can actually change your life. I was just a little annoyed by a few baseless claims the author made here and there without any reference to any scientific evidence. I think it's fair to say these are the author's personal thoughts and perspective about insomnia (more than it's a book about insomnia and what to do about it), which I still believe are valuable and interesting. The book also became repetitive and boring after some point. Maybe the author felt the reiteration will serve a good purpose in instilling the idea into the readers' minds. Overall I found it insightful and useful, and I highly recommend it to folks struggling with insomnia.
I think I'll give it 3.5/5. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great book and can actually change your life. I was just a little annoyed by a few baseless claims the author made here and there without any reference to any scientific evidence. I think it's fair to say these are the author's personal thoughts and perspective about insomnia (more than it's a book about insomnia and what to do about it), which I still believe are valuable and interesting. The book also became repetitive and boring after some point. Maybe the author felt the reiteration will serve a good purpose in instilling the idea into the readers' minds. Overall I found it insightful and useful, and I highly recommend it to folks struggling with insomnia.
December 4, 2025
As someone who has experienced debilitating insomnia - I would highly recommend this book. I was able to relate to so many things Daniel has mentioned. He really seems to 'get it' where other methods seem somewhat lacking in their approach.
'Set It & Forget It' exposes many hard truths as to why so many things that I tried to get me to sleep failed to work. Do not expect to read this book and have insomnia cured right away. It is a gradual process to change thinking patterns/behaviors. This book will help do that. This is definately worth a read for anyone suffering from insomnia.
Thank you Daniel.
'Set It & Forget It' exposes many hard truths as to why so many things that I tried to get me to sleep failed to work. Do not expect to read this book and have insomnia cured right away. It is a gradual process to change thinking patterns/behaviors. This book will help do that. This is definately worth a read for anyone suffering from insomnia.
Thank you Daniel.
October 8, 2021
I’m going to sleep now
This book has so much common sense and has taught me ideas that have improved my sleep. It is written in a folksy style that I found a bit annoying at times, but more often it put me to sleep, which was my goal. (I read this when I could not get back to sleep, in the middle of the night, like right now.) If you are a grammarian or a proofreader, the errors might keep you awake temporarily, but let go of your training and get to sleep!
This book has so much common sense and has taught me ideas that have improved my sleep. It is written in a folksy style that I found a bit annoying at times, but more often it put me to sleep, which was my goal. (I read this when I could not get back to sleep, in the middle of the night, like right now.) If you are a grammarian or a proofreader, the errors might keep you awake temporarily, but let go of your training and get to sleep!
November 9, 2024
Book was a bit repetitive and had some glaring formatting/grammar issues, but, wow, the ideas in have been and continue to be super helpful in recovering from a pretty intense bout of insomnia. I have returned to this book and a select number of his videos regularly when I hit “speedbumps” and they help me get right back on track. My sleep isn’t perfect yet, but I know that I have the knowledge/tools to get me there and I am thankful from what I have learned from the author.
January 18, 2025
This is a really great book on insomnia and gets right to the root cause for it. The methods it teaches about insomnia are not only helpful for improving sleep, but other anxious thoughts you might struggle with. I think anyone with insomnia or anxiety should read this book as opposed to going down the rabbit hole with ways to fix sleep. The real culprit for not sleeping is your fear of not sleeping.
September 3, 2025
If you are starting to have sleep struggles- start here. I wish I had! It’s hard to undo your pointless sleep vices once you have them lined up. Letting go of desiring control is hard, but truly is the most effective and logical solution. “The act of threat monitoring only has downsides”.
1 star lacking as the book’s title is never truly explained and the writing is subpar.
1 star lacking as the book’s title is never truly explained and the writing is subpar.
January 2, 2021
4.5 Stars
Best book for insomnia that I've read! Most of the information I have come across during my research has been pretty useless. CBT-i methods are the way to go. This book uses simple principles that make sense & are effective.
Best book for insomnia that I've read! Most of the information I have come across during my research has been pretty useless. CBT-i methods are the way to go. This book uses simple principles that make sense & are effective.
April 26, 2021
Excellent book
Uses CBT but in a much more humane and practical way. Highly recommended. Debunks several myths too. Well worth reading.
Uses CBT but in a much more humane and practical way. Highly recommended. Debunks several myths too. Well worth reading.
October 19, 2022
Intriguing read.
Read
July 21, 2023Sounds great in theory but if only it were that easy to just not think about sleep and then....voila! Sleep comes.
January 9, 2024
THE best book i’ve read on insomnia - wish i’d read this first! Insomnia isn’t a problem - just read this!
April 3, 2024
Best book/resource I’ve read on the subject. So much resonated with me that I’ll keep it 5 stars despite him needing to find a new editor for the typos :)
December 18, 2024
Simple concept for people with insomnia.
Had some great points such as:
- gas and break: you need to be sleepy and not excited to actually sleep
- thinking about the sleep you’re not having is actually what’s making you not sleep
Halfway through there is nothing new, however the point bears repetition and is always attacked from a new angle, which is a great way to make you remember it.
Weirdly enough, it made me realise that my obsession with productivity, and life optimisation is probably getting in the way of actually doing what I must.
Had some great points such as:
- gas and break: you need to be sleepy and not excited to actually sleep
- thinking about the sleep you’re not having is actually what’s making you not sleep
Halfway through there is nothing new, however the point bears repetition and is always attacked from a new angle, which is a great way to make you remember it.
Weirdly enough, it made me realise that my obsession with productivity, and life optimisation is probably getting in the way of actually doing what I must.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2025
Love the advices that I got from this book that I can apply for my sleeping problems. I got this book recommendation from Reddit and they kept on suggesting that reading this might help!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews