As we work more, we place little value on sleep. We have lots of happenings that interfere with getting enough shut eye; in short, we have a problem. Many books now address the topic of sleep: from sleeping pills to sleep patterns, information can be found in a number of really good books.
If you are having difficulty and want to improve the quality of your sleep, if you would like to better understand the science behind sleep, or if you have an interest in the culture and history of sleep itself there is a book for that. If you would like to know more, here are our recommendations for the best books on sleep.
Dr. Winter does a deep dive into what is causing your sleep problems and what you can do to eliminate them. His goal is to relieve patients of the need for sleeping pills, get rid of pain, and remove the endless fatigue that comes from being sleep deprived. He writes from his own experience with patients.
This book ranks among the highest rated and most reviewed books on sleep. The author, Shawn Stevenson, has undergone a very personal journey of biohacking around sleep and nutrition to transform his body and his life. The book details a 14-day sleep makeover.
Gregg D. Jacobs profiles this six-week cognitive program that was developed at Harvard Medical School. Considered the gold standard in sleep programs, it boasts an 80% success rate using behavioral techniques and lifestyle changes to relax, de-stress, and think differently about your sleep.
The highest rated and most reviewed of all the books we looked at, Why We Sleep answers any of the questions you have and all the ones you didn’t know to ask. Director of UC Berkeley’s Sleep Lab, Matthew Walker addresses all the reasons we need to sleep and how sleep affects our bodies with things like immune function, metabolism, and our minds in terms of cognition.
Dr. Dement has written a fact-filled, well researched book on the science behind sleep. Based on decades of studies at the Stanford University Sleep Research Center, he explains what we go through when we sleep and what we go through if we don’t get enough sleep.
Arianna Huffington writes about the importance of sleep and how we live in a culture that dismisses that importance. Having grown up in a family that prized sleep, she looks at the big picture of what is happening now. She writes personally and covers history, science, and the change in social norms that has happened and needs to happen.
Described as a “dwindling resource,” Kat Duff approaches sleep from a narrative and experiential perspective. How do we, as humans, experience this complex world of sleep? The book is full of important questions and relevant insights.
Sleep habits have changed dramatically over the last half a century resulting in a sleep crisis. Sleep is a natural aspect of our lives that we once took for granted. Now, lack of sleep and problems with sleep are so pervasive they have been declared a public health epidemic.
One in five Americans suffer from insomnia, and 1 in 4 have some type of sleep disorder. One in fourteen have experienced sleep apnea, and according to the American Sleep Association, almost 50% have an issue with snoring that affects quality of sleep. We have turned into a nation, if not a world, of sleep deprived individuals, and our health is suffering. Henry Emmons, MD calls sleep, “the non-negotiable pillar of wellbeing.” If we want to be truly healthy, we have to get enough sleep.
In light of all this, it is easy to see why there is so much interest in sleep.
What better to read at bedtime than a book on sleep? There are lots of options that detail ways to improve sleep, academic works on the science of sleep, and interesting commentaries on why we as a society are experiencing such difficulty with sleep. Pick up one today, and let it help you get a better night’s rest.
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