Dreamland Adventures in the strange science of sleep

David K. Randall

Book - 2012

Examines the complex world of sleep and discusses whether or not women sleep differently than men and if killing someone while sleepwalking would count as murder.

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Subjects
Published
New York : W.W. Norton & Co c2012.
Language
English
Main Author
David K. Randall (-)
Edition
1st ed
Physical Description
290 p. ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9780393080209
  • I know what you did last night
  • Light my fire
  • Between the sheets
  • And baby makes three
  • What dreams may come
  • Sleep on it
  • The weapon "Z"
  • Bumps in the night
  • Game time
  • Breathe easy
  • Counting sheep
  • Mr. Sandman
  • Good night.
Review by Booklist Review

Veteran journalist Randall tackles the mysterious landscape of sleep by surveying the many areas of sleep research. He proceeds in a somewhat chronological order, beginning with historical sleep patterns. According to some research, when sleep patterns were determined by daylight, before interior lighting became prevalent, a typical night's rest was split into first sleep and second sleep, with approximately an hour awake in between. In the modern age, Randall argues, the advent of gaslights and electric lightbulbs have radically changed the way our bodies want to sleep. From here, he covers the perfect mattress (there isn't one: it's merely what a person finds most comfortable); bed sharing; labor laws; and the future of sleep monitoring. Randall is at his best when talking about sleep disorders, such as violent parasomnias, wherein a person can unknowingly commit assault or even murder in his or her sleep. Though he doesn't go into minute detail, Randall provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to a mystifying but necessary part of life.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This fabulous book is likely to address any and all questions you might have about sleep, although, given the state of research in the field, the answers may not be definitive. The range of topics is enormous, from the evolutionary reasons for sleep to the best type of mattress-oddly enough, studies suggest that high quality sleep is equally possible on an unpadded concrete floor as on a high-tech air mattress. Equally surprising, sleeping pills yield no higher quality sleep than a placebo. What they apparently do is retard the formation of short-term memory so people taking sleeping pills simply don't remember all the times they wake up. Randall argues that people can commit crimes in their sleep, and that the most important cause of friendly fire deaths in war is soldiers' lack of sleep. There's plenty of practical information, like how to overcome insomnia without drugs, how to combat snoring, how to encourage young children to get to sleep and, perhaps most useful, how to bet successfully on professional football games: our circadian rhythms favor West Coast teams over East Coast teams on Monday nights. This is one book that will not put you to sleep. 10 illus. Agents: Larry Weissman and Sascha Alper. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review

AP reporter Randall provides a brisk tour of sleep research and what it means for individuals hoping to feel well rested. The author engaged with sleep research in part because of his sleepwalking. The book is not a seamlessly constructed narrative but rather a loose progression of chapters about different sleep-related issues: the sometimes fatal dangers in various occupations caused by lack of sleep; causes of and partial cures for insomnia; the ugly reality of sleep apnea; why dreams happen and whether they can be interpreted sensibly; what happens when an infant enters a household; the advantages of romantic couples sleeping in separate beds; and much more. Randall explains how the invention of electricity led to countless cases of sleep deprivation; the lack of utter darkness after sunset is often the enemy of sound sleep. Researching the world of sleep is obviously difficult because sleeping subjects selected for studies rarely remember anything concrete. Nonetheless, Randall interviewed sleep researchers and read academic papers to glean what he could from those who devote their careers to the science of sleep. Depending on the quality of their sleep, readers may be alternately saddened or validated by research suggesting that sleeping pills rarely improve the quality of sleep and rarely increase quantity by more than a few minutes. Randall emphasizes the too-often neglected common-sense realization that sleep is no void; rather, it is perhaps one-third of the puzzle to living well. The author also notes that sleep is not an undifferentiated continuum; the most restful sleep arrives in five stages of about 90 minutes each. A welcome study of an element of life that is often "forgotten, overlooked, and postponed."]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.