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Book Review: Sleep Wise
Oct. 2nd, 2016 09:03 amI took about a month to read Daniel Blum's Sleep Wise because I actually stopped in the middle to follow his advice and keep a sleep log for two weeks, having concluded that self-help books might be more helpful if I actually did some of their recommended exercises rather than burning through them like a comet.
And actually this was quite useful! Filling out the table made me realize that I am sleeping better than I thought - I suspect partly it helped to know that I was going to be recording my bedtime etc., which gave me motivation to actually go to bed rather than faffing around on the internet or whatever - in any case, it was a nice mental boost to discover that I'm not sleeping too badly after all.
And also having a table of actual sleep times made it easier to decide which of his suggested sleep interventions might be helpful to me personally. Among other things, he suggests turning off screens an hour before going to bed, which I was resistant to at first, but then I realize that this would give me extra Count of Monte Cristo time so I have decided that it's a good idea after all.
He does do a bit of that thing that I've noticed with other experts, where they tend to feel passionately that their field is the potential cure for all ills; in fact he notes this fact himself later on in the book, when he has sections about how exercise and diet can help you fulfill your sleep potential. But as long as you take it with a grain of salt, I think it's a good, interesting, and potentially quite useful read.
And actually this was quite useful! Filling out the table made me realize that I am sleeping better than I thought - I suspect partly it helped to know that I was going to be recording my bedtime etc., which gave me motivation to actually go to bed rather than faffing around on the internet or whatever - in any case, it was a nice mental boost to discover that I'm not sleeping too badly after all.
And also having a table of actual sleep times made it easier to decide which of his suggested sleep interventions might be helpful to me personally. Among other things, he suggests turning off screens an hour before going to bed, which I was resistant to at first, but then I realize that this would give me extra Count of Monte Cristo time so I have decided that it's a good idea after all.
He does do a bit of that thing that I've noticed with other experts, where they tend to feel passionately that their field is the potential cure for all ills; in fact he notes this fact himself later on in the book, when he has sections about how exercise and diet can help you fulfill your sleep potential. But as long as you take it with a grain of salt, I think it's a good, interesting, and potentially quite useful read.
