Jeremy C Kester

This review also appears on Amazon and Goodreads

As someone who doesn’t sleep well, who was diagnosed with apnea, seeing the title of this book caused an immediate need to shove aside all other books I was reading at the time and open this one up. I am glad I did. Now, admittedly, I did not read this book from cover to cover, but there is a reason for that.

For starters, I work in a mattress manufacturing company. While I might just be a little close to the news, sleep has appeared to be a growing topic in health and wellness. This book’s publication appears to ride that wave. Before succumbing to any of the other hype in sleep medicine, I say that one should read this book.

Written by W. Chris Winter, MD, a doctor specializing in sleep medicine, this book is a sarcastic, refreshing read when it comes to how we sleep as humans, the need for sleep, all the mechanics of sleep, and then all of the ailments impacting a good night’s rest.

Aside from the desire to absorb all the information that I could, I genuinely enjoyed reading this book.

In the beginning of the book, Chris works to dispel some of the myths about sleep, including the belief in the saying “I haven’t slept in days.” He seems determined to remove that belief once and for all, insisting that our body does sleep, no matter how hard we might even try to do otherwise. It’s the quality of that sleep that is the problem.

Once you get past some of the more general chapters, including descriptions on the different levels of sleep (the ever popular REM sleep being one of them), Chris then breaks the book up into more specific dealings, including medication for sleep, and some of the specific ailments including apnea, insomnia, and others. He even has a chapter on whether naps are good or bad.

This was where I skipped over places. Particularly the chapters on insomnias. I rarely ever suffer from anything of the sort. As interesting as it was, it just wasn’t useful to me, so I passed over them.

His descriptions for apnea however were spot-on. I learned even more than what my sleep doctors had imparted on me.

Overall, the book was a great read. Plenty of information and advice while maintaining a light-hearted tone that at times made me laugh. There is a lot I am taking from this book. While some may be tricky to apply, the trials will be worth it.

Chris does a superb job showing why he specializes in sleep medicine. It’s a must read for anyone having trouble with their sleep. I highly recommend it.