The Promise of Sleep: A Pioneer in Sleep Medicine Explains the Vital Connection between Health, Happiness and a Good Night's Sleep: Amazon.co.uk: William C. Dement: Books

Product Description

Healthy sleep has been proven to be the single most important determinant in predicting longevity-more influential than diet, exercise or heredity-but our modern culture has become a study in sleep deprivation. Technology's world without darkness wreaks havoc on our body clocks. We sacrifice sleep to meet the demands of our endless days. Our doctors regard sleep deprivation as a fact of life-and do little to promote sleep health or awareness. Meanwhile, the physical, emotional and psychological costs of our unhealthy sleep life continue to mount, largely without mention.

In The Promise of Sleep, world-renowned sleep authority William C. Dement, M.D., offers the definitive look into this unexplored but vital part of our lives, giving readers the information they need to reclaim their birthright to a good night's sleep. Drawing on his decades of experience on the frontiers of sleep science, Dr. Dement explains what happens when we sleep, taking readers on a remarkably lively tour of the sleeping body and mind. We learn of sleep's surprisingly powerful effect on our overall health, from our immune system to our psychological well-being, and see first-hand the many ways in which sleep loss and sleep deprivation can put us in harm's way, inhibit our motivation and creativity, and rob us of the vitality that makes life worth living. And he shows how the sleep awareness to be gained from such insight can be our society's most powerful weapon to combat the sleep deprivation epidemic that costs untold lives and resources each year.

Sharing wisdom gained through years of sleep lab experience, Dr. Dement gives hands-on advice on how to get the sleep we need, addressing such popular topics as: sleep disorders and their cures; the role of prescription and over-the-counter sleeping aids; recovery from jet lag and other temporary obstacles to a healthy sleep life; the power of naps; and more. He also offers his seven principles of healthy sleep, and tells readers how they can discover their own "sleep point" and learn how much sleep they truly need.

As insightful as Listening to Prozac, inspiring as Spontaneous Healing, and empowering as The Gift of Fear, The Promise of Sleep illuminates the little-understood "forgotten third" of our lives, and gives us the tools we need to unlock its abundant gifts for the rest of our lives.

From the Publisher

THE SCIENCE OF HEALTH, HAPPINESS AND A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP.
Modern culture has become a study in sleep deprivation and yet healthy sleep has been proven to be the single most important determinant in longevity - more influential than diet, exercise or heredity.

THE PROMISE OF SLEEP illuminates the little understood but vitally important 'forgotten third' of our lives - from the science of our sleeping brain to the coded world of dreams. Drawing on more than four decades of research in sleep science, William C. Dement explains what happens when we sleep, taking readers on a remarkably lively tour of the sleeping body and mind. Dement examines sleep's surprisingly powerful effect on our overall health, from our immune system to our psychological well-being, and alerts us to the many ways in which sleep loss and sleep deprivation can put us in harm's way, inhibiting our motivation and our vitality.

Most importantly, THE PROMISE OF SLEEP gives hands-on advice about how to get the sleep we badly need. Dement reveals the six principles of healthy sleep and addresses such popular topics as sleep disorders and their cures, the role of prescription and over-the-counter sleeping aids, recovery from jet lag and the power of naps.

THE PROMISE OF SLEEP is a wake-up call to us all to stop abusing our delicate biological clocks and to start taking sleep seriously as the foundation of good health. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

A fascinating insight into the workings of sleep 3 Jan 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book tells you how to get better sleep, not by banal and useless exercises but by proven scientific explanation. It outlines the history of research into sleep and recent findings in friendly plain English. Topics include the accumulation of "sleep debt", sleep patterns from newborns to the elderly, how to reset your body clock, the role of dreaming, and the very real ways in which lack of good sleep can affect health. The author also tells interesting anecdotes about his experiences researching sleep over many years, such as how eyebrows were raised when the first women took part in perfectly innocuous sleep experiments!

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

How important is sleep and does it impact on our lives? 19 Mar 2000

Format:Hardcover

This is an excellent book highlighting the importance of getting good quality sleep. It seems that few people realise the full extent to which poor sleeping habits affect all aspects of our daily life.

This book also identifies potentially dangerous sleeping conditions and diseases (which are much more prevalent than one would think) which at best affect our performance during the day and at worst can be killers.

This is very well written by an author who has decades of experience in investigating sleep disorders and is easy to read, even for someone with little medical knowledge. A must-read for anyone who struggles getting good quality sleep or who is frequently tired during the day.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Packed with life-saving information! 12 July 1999

When a friend of mine recommended that I read this book, I was slightly doubtful. I didn't really believe that a book about sleep could be all that interesting. When I did get around to reading The Promise of Sleep, however, I was really pleasantly surprised. Dr. William Dement wrote this book in a manner that neither condescends to the reader, nor confuses him or her with overly technical terms, as one might expect from the world-renowned expert on sleep. It is friendly and amusing with entertaining anecdotes form Dr. Dement's career. In this respect, the book has some autobiographical aspects to it, allowing the reader to take a look into this fascinating man's life and work. One gets the sense that this book is intended for everyone who can read it, not only for people who can't sleep at night. The sleep patterns of people of all ages are discussed: infants, children, adolescents, pregnant women, the middle-aged, and the elderly. Dr. Dement makes it clear that sleep affects every area of our lives, and he does this by providing us with fascinating, but little-known, information. For example, in spite of the fact that 9 out if 10 people are either sleep-deprived or have a sleep disorder, a large number of these cases remain undiagnosed, because most doctors are untrained in this area. And sleepy drivers have a part in about a third of traffic accidents, but few people are aware of this. It makes the reader indignant to find out about this, and the author's anger shows through as well. After all, people are dying from sleep disorders, car accidents, and industrial disasters because the public is ignorant about sleep. The Promise of Sleep serves as a self-help book as well. I did not realize that I was sleep-deprived, or that sleep debt accumulates, until I read this book. The book includes a three-week plan to improve one's sleep. I actually tried it, and now sleep is a priority for me. As a result, my days are much more productive. This book was excellent. I would unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone, on the basis that it will change, and even save, lives. It would serve as a good gift, as well.