Sleep Disorders Books

In talking with numerous parents of young children over the years, I think the #1 question I get is "How can I get my baby to sleep?" Parents are sleep-deprived, struggling with exhaustion, and out of patience with their baby's lack of sleep. And moms are hit doubly hard because they've just come through all the sleep problems that can be associated with pregnancy. Fortunately, there's a great book available that can help expectant and new parents cope with sleep disturbances. "Sleep Deprived No More: From Pregnancy to Early Motherhood--Helping You and Your Baby Sleep Through the Night" shows that restful sleep can be achieved, both during pregnancy and after birth. Topics include:

An Introduction to Sleep, which explains how we sleep and tips for improving sleep.

Sleep and Pregnancy, which explains sleep problems and solutions for each trimester of pregnancy.

Solving Common Sleep Problems, which addresses issues such as restless legs syndrome, snoring, sleep apnea and more.

After the Baby Is Born, which addresses the sleep problems of babies in the first six weeks, from 6 weeks to 6 months, and getting your baby to sleep through the night.

Author Jodi A. Mindell, Ph.D., is the associate director of the Sleep Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and professor of psychology at Saint Joseph's University. She has also written books on sleep issues with older children, including "Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep: The All-in-One Resource for Solving Sleep Problems in Kids and Teens" and "Sleeping Through the Night: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleep."

"Sleep Deprived No More" is an excellent resource that will give hope to all the expectant and new parents who are fearful they may never sleep well again. And the tips and advice are practical and realistic so that all parents can follow them. Every doctor should be handing this book to his or her pregnant patients!

This book has great sleep pointers and also indicates some common reasons for sleep problems before and after baby.

I'm 5 months pregnant and haven't been able to sleep since I got pregnant. It's hard because I also have a 2 year old who wakes up at night, although luckily my 11 year old daughter is a great sleeper. I found this book to be excellent and am looking forward to trying the tips provided.

I hardly ever leave reviews for products but I found this book to be (for me)a worthless waste of time and money. I bought this book beacuse it says "From Pregnancy to early motherhood-Helping You and your baby sleep through the night" There was no good information for helping a pregnant woman to get some sleep, instead ther are countless pages of questions and quizes to conclude that I may be sleep deprived and statistics of other people who say they don't sleep well either. I found it to be an information book about sleep but it did not offer much help getting any sleep as the cover claims. Frankly most people know to prop their heads up if they are stuffy or have reflux and to put a pillow between the knees when laying on a side. It included a few suggestions that are almost an insult to intelligence such as adding an extra blanket if you are cold. It does offer a basic summary of information found in other books on how to get your baby to sleep through the night. If you are looking for a book to help your baby sleep through the night "The no cry sleep solution" I thought was worthwhile and also "the happiest baby on the block".

I happen to come across this book in searching for how to solve my sleep issues. I'm 7 months pregnant and have had the worst problems sleeping. I found this book to be extremely helpful. I've been asking my doctor about my sleep for several months now and he didn't have any answers. After reading this book I realized that I have exactly the symptoms of restless legs syndrome and insisted that my doctor check my iron levels. Not only has taking iron now made a huge difference in how I feel but this book was full of lots of tips that have improved my sleep. I no longer feel like a zombie all day.

After reading many books to help me get through the first few months of parenthood, I was given this book . I wish I'd read it while still pregnant, this book is excellent, a great resource, very practical and gives you good suggestions on how to extend your baby's night sleep. I borrowed it from a friend whose baby was sleeping 10 hours a night at 6 weeks old, if it worked for her I thought it was worth a shot and i really think its helping. i highly recommend it.

The base idea for this book is to look for a "Core Night" which is the first time your baby sleeps for longer than usual. Once he does that the author says you can expect him to do it all the time by not going to him during those Core Night hours. She says the Core Night is the Secret Weapon and happens usually in the first 4 weeks. But what if you miss is? What if your baby is older than 4 weeks? And what if he cries very hard during those Core Night hours? There are a few ideas throughout the book, but I found a better one that had a more specific plan called The No Cry Sleep Solution which is for babies of all ages.

This book was a life-saver. Our 4 month old is sleeping 8-9 hour stretches. We are all much happier getting our rest. I thought it was a great book and have bought it for many friends.

Hi,
at 6 weeks my baby is sleeping 6 1/2 hours a night uninterrupted thanks to this book! I'm trying to work her up to 8 hours, which I know will come. She goes to bed like a dream and settles herself back down if she does wake up - all tips I learned with the book.

The base idea for this book is to look for a "Core Night" which is the first time your baby sleeps for longer than usual. Once he does that the author says you can expect him to do it all the time by not going to him during those Core Night hours. She says the Core Night is the Secret Weapon and happens usually in the first 4 weeks. But what if you miss is? What if your baby is older than 4 weeks? And what if he cries very hard during those Core Night hours? There are a few ideas throughout the book, but I found a better one that had a more specific plan called The No Cry Sleep Solution which is for babies of all ages.

this one is not a great read, i put it aside in favor of other offerings. the ferber book is very good because it explains sleep patterns and why you're not doing your kids any favors by indulging nighttime demands - but it was clearly not written by a man... it advises that letting kids cry so much they vomit is okay - yikes. the pantley book is a kinder gentler interpretation of the ferber method (although i'm sure she wouldn't like to be associated with him). the combination of ferber and pantley has worked well for devising a strategy to help our 6mo to sleep better.

I bought this book to help me figure out how to solve the problems of my older child. I pulled it out again when I found out I was pregnant and it didn't have much advice on newborns and infants. But I'm sure it will come in handy when the little one grows up. If you want something more "proactive" instead of "reactive" try "Healthy sleep habits Happy child".

A good read and reminder for all who are just starting to deal with this problem with little ones or for those of us with 9 year olds and up who still are dealing with sleep issues.

This book was recommended to me by our pediatrician as our 9-year-old daughter has been having sleep problems. Within a week of implementing the suggestions in this book, our daughter is much better rested, going to bed much easier, and having fewer nightmares. I have now recommended this book to other parents in my daughter's class who have also been struggling with sleep problems.

I have 3 children -- ages 15, 13, and 7. Not only did this book help solve my youngest one's sleep issues, it also helped me to understand my older children's sleep needs. I can't imagine any parent who wouldn't need this book at some point as an invaluable reference. I highly recommend it.

The author has no credential to deal with the matter. Just an ordinary mother who decided to share her common sense. The book lack substance and do not bring anything new beside going to bed early.

This book is excellent. It contained the information I was looking for. So many sleep books deal with insomnia and I'm not an insomniac. I wanted a book to help me get out of bed in the morning and this book has done it. I highly recommend this book.

So far this book has been very helpful to me. I have looked at several books related to sleeping. The ones I always found recommended sleeping at least 8 hours if not 10. I wanted a book that showed me how to sleep less.

So far it is working. I am sleeping about an hour less per day. I've found out that just because I feel tired when I wake up does not necessarily mean I need more sleep. It's basically just a habit.

The book pointed out an interesting fact, that our periods of deep sleep occur in the first 4 hours of our sleep cycle, not later. Also that sleep times is very much a societal thing. There is native culture in Africa that the men sleep on average only 3 to 4 hours per night and the women only a little more.

Much of my sleep problems had to do with my beliefs about the need for sleep. This book presents lots of evidence that 8 hours of sleep may be too much. People with depression were put on a treatment of less sleep and it was an effective at reducing or eliminating their depression.

There was also an interesting study done. They studied 3 groups of people and put them into an enviroment in which they had no way to tell what time it was. Each group slept 8 hours. But one group was told that they slept 6 hours, the second group was told they slept 10 hours and the third group was told they slept 8 hours. It turns out that all the groups reacted to what they were told about how much sleep they got rather than what was true. The people who were told they only slept 6 hours complained about being tired.

This may show how much our beliefs about sleep affect our perceived need for sleep.

This book is annoyingly written, and could be condensed, but I wasn't bothered by that.

The point is that you can reduce the amount of sleep you get. My sleep schedule used to be all over the place. I'd sleep late on weekends, not be able to sleep during the week, and generally be tired.

Now I've reduced my sleep needs by a little over an hour a night and I'm soon going to reduce it by more. I get up at the same (early) time every day and I have no problem sleeping at night.

Sleeping is now a non-issue in my life. Imagine having an extra 7-14 hours in your week, being more alert and energetic, and never having insomnia. That's what this book did for me.

An exelent book on a subject hard to find any decent info

If you are looking for a book to help you alleviate night terrors, this is probably not the book to read. The book claims to be a breakthrough program, but it offers very little guidance for alleviating them. The main author, who is a sufferer of night terrors, but not a doctor, goes to great lengths to support his claim that all adult night terrors must be caused by past trauma. It is imperative, he says, that a sufferer recognize that trauma (primarily child abuse) occured and to move on. If the reader doesn't buy into this assertion, then the rest of the book is really not helpful. I was hoping for more on how to alleviate night terrors, but this book came up short, in my opinion.

I had suffered from terrible night terrors for decades before finding the answers I needed in this book. I fit the personality characteristics listed and I found the explanations for these characteristics comforting. The relationship section was also quite relevant to my life. But the most valuable part of the book for me was the section on solutions. I had to apply almost all of the important information listed in this chapter (including the information on effective drugs) to my life. This was by no means a ten minute fix. It took a little time, energy and effort but it worked.

I've been using the CD for about two weeks now and so far no success. It does tell you to give it time to work by using it morning and night for several weeks. My chief complaint is that there's no instruction in the case about which tracks to use, how long each track is, etc... I also find the warning about copy right protection at the beginning of the CD annoying. If you set the CD to repeat (and since I'm never asleep by the end I do) it takes you out of the rhythm of trying to relax. The first track is supposed to put you to sleep and wake you up. That wasn't really my goal. I want to sleep. That's why I bought this. If you skip to what you think is the second track it turns out it's really the part of track 1 that wakes you back up. I haven't given up yet and I wasn't expecting a quick solution, but I'm starting to wonder if it will work.

and buy this cd! I have been using this disc for three nights in a row with much success. I typically have trouble going to sleep and then staying asleep. The first track I tried was Deep Sleep (4) and I was out before the program finished. Track 3 Go to Sleep was effective but seems more of an exercise program you would commit to. Finally track 2 Restorative Sleep provide just that. So far I have slept sound and awakened refreshed and renewed. You can go to www.hyptalk.com if you can't get them through Amazon. It is a purchase worth making.

Hypnosis is as natural as breathing. You naturally make contact with your subconscious mind all the time. ~Victoria Wizell

Victoria Wizell is a Certified Master Hypnotherapist with a beautiful voice and a positive attitude to life. She has studied personal growth concepts and has incorporated her knowledge into a variety of meditations.

She helps you develop a skill that will allow you to relax. I listened to this CD at night, although I was surprised to read it should be listened to at the same time very morning for 30 days. It seems Track 2 could be used for the morning if you enjoy going back to sleep after the alarm goes off. Track 3 and 4 could be used when you want to fall asleep and stay asleep for a longer time.

Track 1: Introduction - An explanation of how to use this CD.

Track 2: Restorative Sleep - Music plays in the background as Victoria provides thoughts to lead you into a calm state so you can rest peacefully. Use this track when you want to wake up after the session.

Track 3: Go To Sleep - As I'm trying to type here, I'm feeling very, very sleepy. It is almost impossible to listen to this without wanting to climb into bed. This is the track that helped me sink into my warm bed and drift into a happy sleep. Victoria encourages you to breathe deeply and relax completely. Slowly you sink into a wonderful "trance" which just seems to mean sinking into relaxation.

Track 4: Deep Sleep - Deep breathing exercises. I was asleep before this track began, but if you need more time to relax, this track focuses on your heart beating calmly and your cells healing as energy flows through your body in this new restful state.

The first few times I tried to review this CD, I fell into a blissful sleep. Apparently the results can be seen in as little as one day if you listen to this at night. I'd highly recommend this CD for the evening, especially if you have been having trouble sleeping or find you are not sleeping as deeply as you could be and feel tired during the day.

I'm also listening to The Stress Management Workshop. Victoria Wizell also has a Self-Hypnosis Step-by-Step CD ROM with a 30-minute Hypnosis Session and testimonials.

~The Rebecca Review

Sleep Away The Pounds. Who would have thought weight loss could be so comforting?

My first reaction to the title of the book though, was one of skepticism. Cherie Calbom walks you through the program, which involves a well-rounded approach to weight loss: diet, exercise, weight management, and sleep. According to research, lack of sleep can be correlated to the overall gain in weight in our society. Lack of sleep can cause hormonal imbalances in areas that affect our body's signals toward hunger. Proper sleep helps to halt this cycle and retrain the brain. When correct levels of hormones are reached within the body, it aids the weight-loss program.

Sleep needs to be refreshing and restorative--when you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and with energy to tackle the day. The author presents an extensive list of various ways to increase the likelihood of a good night's sleep. Also tips are given on quieting the mind, exercise and diet. Numerous foods are listed which are known to relax the body and increase the likelihood of a good night's sleep.

Included in the book are a 21-day menu plan and a listing of resources.

Armchair interview says: If you have struggled with weight loss and been on too many yo-yo diets, this book presents another aspect which may affect the way you loose weight.

One of the primary points of advice in this book is a natural one, namely get the amount of sleep appropriate for you. After all, if you are sleeping you cannot be eating. One very well documented characteristic of staying up late is that you suffer from a case of the munchies. That hunger fuels the desire for food and the influx of calories helps keep you awake longer. The lack of sleep then leads to a feeling of sluggishness during the day and most people try to cope with that by eating more during the day.
The solution is of course to establish a sleep routine, where the goal is to get restful sleep. Find a simple activity that helps get you to sleep and do it every night before retiring. It can be reading, listening to music, anything that causes your brain to think sleep. Watching television is often counterproductive as the events stimulate the brain, causing you to stay up longer and sleep less sound.
The dietary recommendations are in general good, but sometimes the justification is rather vague. Phrases like, "... which some people have found to aid them" are not convincing. Other phrases like, "According to Chinese medicine . . ." and "Chinese medicine says that the liver filters all our blood through the night, especially between 1 and 3 AM." just sound like inconclusive hearsay. Other phrases like "... an imbalance between the energies of the liver energy (Chi) and the lung energy (Chi), since 3 AM is when the body's energy moves from an emphasis on the liver meridian to an emphasis on the lung meridian." just sound strange.
Therefore, while there is some sound advice in this book, a lot of it sounds like unjustified and unclear pontification.

Cherie Calbom has written another extremely helpful book for those of us who need real help for real problems. I appreciate how she integrates sound scientific research with practical and useful tips for people who need help getting a good night's sleep. Calbom is known for her expertise and precise research as a nutritionist, yet she is skilled at explaining things so anyone can understand.
She begins with an overview of the newly discovered hormones like leptin and ghrelin that affect our physiology and make it difficult to lose weight if we're chronically sleep deprived. She includes diet and exercise programs that help keep us on track. I have followed her 21 day weight loss program and have been able to lose weight and feel much more energetic. There are also suggestions for supplements that help, along with ideas from alternative medicine, some of which I may disagree with, like Chinese medicine, but that are nevertheless informative. She and her psychologist husband include practical steps for relaxation to help deal with stress, which is probably the biggest contributor to health problems in our society as well as the lack of sleep. I highly recommend the book and have bought copies for a number of my friends.

The book "Wrestling With Ghosts" by Jorge Servilla is about the phenomena of "sleep paralysis".
If you describe this phenomena to a room full of people, you will find a few that know exactly what you are talking about, but the rest will be mystified.

Based on my own experiences, a typical episode of sleep paralysis is like this: You are under stress and lie down in your bed to go to sleep. You may sleep briefly. But then you find that your are lying on the bed with your eyes open. You cannot move. The view of the bedroom is so real that you know you are not in a dream.

To this basic scenario, more disturbing elements may be added. For example, you may think that the house is on fire. You may see a pet or even a strange animal moving in the room and climbing on your bed. The animal may climb on you. You may hear a loud ringing in your ears. Typically, you feel intense fear because you are paralyzed and cannot act. You struggle to move and finally wake up, often with a jolt.

Sleep paralysis is a vivid nightmare of a particular kind. Important aspects of the dream match your real situation precisely: your location, the posture of your body, the view of the surroundings that you have from your paralyzed eyes.

According to the book, there are people who find sleep paralysis so disturbing that it intrudes on their waking lives. They interpret these episodes as paranormal experiences, contacts with ghosts, religious revelations or hallucinations that make them doubt their own sanity. (I, myself, always brushed them off as bad dreams. As to doubting my own sanity, I find sleep paralysis less convincing evidence than my purchases of certain woodworking tools.) Those who find the sleep paralysis experience intensely disturbing are usually relieved when they learn that it is a well known and scientifically studied phenomena. I think this rush of gratitude leads to an undeserved level of praise for "Wrestling With Ghosts". There is useful information in the book but it is embedded in some of the most tortuous prose that I have ever forced myself to read.

For example (with the abbreviation "SP" for "sleep paralysis" and "REM" for "rapid eye movement") we have the section: "Sociocultural and Folkloric: Alien abductions as Birth Memories and SP".

The section begins: "A fully contextualized approach to anything may be realistically, a pie in the sky proposition. Still, most sleep researchers and technicians engaged in electro-encephalogramic (EEG) technology and research are trained to interpret REM sleep as, Austin's reference of Llinas and Pare (1991) says 'an active brain in a paralyzed body.' This bit of knowledge should already close the gap between what we think of consciousness when awake and some other type of consciousness, usually an altered or alternate (and lesser) form of consciousness not deserving much debate in the Philosophy of Science literature. That is, this bit of wisdom should be enough to begin a phenomenological unveiling that intersects the so-called electrophysiological data with the cultural lore. Because the book is partly an attempt at de-singularizing complexity, semiotically speaking, we need to continue knitting, so to speak, an ecologically richer fabric of knowledge that extends from the individual experience, through the necessity of singularization in scientific enterprises to the cultural lore."

I suppose that a person who fears a nightly visitation from ghosts would have the motivation to wade through such stuff. People unfamiliar with sleep paralysis won't want to waste their time doing that.

As I interpret the book's content, the important points are these:

1. Dreams occur in the REM stage of sleep. Normally, in this stage the body is actually paralyzed. So "sleep paralysis" may have something to do with entering a state of consciousness that is more "awake" than normal dreaming.

2. The perpetuation of legends in certain cultures, particularly those that involve night time visitations by ghosts or mythical creatures, might be explained by the fact that some fraction of the population experiences sleep paralysis and has dreams that are suggested by the mythology of the culture.

3. People may be able to train themselves not to feel fear during episodes of sleep paralysis. An episode of sleep paralysis might be use as a gateway to having a "lucid dream".

The book does have notes to the chapters and a bibliography. Some of the references are to scientific studies of various aspects of sleep. Others deal with philosophical matters. (The question of dreaming does bring up the question: "What is consciousness?".)

I rate the book as two stars out of five, which means it is below average as an exposition of a scientific topic.

Years of not knowing whether I was crazy, hallucinating, or drinking too much tea all but disappeared when I finished reading Dr. Sevilla`s excellent book. Even though my knowledge of sleep paralysis has grown in the last year, I thought I was alone in my recent capacity, or ability to move from the paralysis state to more fun lucid dreaming. Dr. Sevilla explains how he and others do this making me feel less alone. His proactive management of the debilitating paralysis and turning it into a positive experience makes this a hopeful and optimistic book about the syndrome.

Dr. Sevilla also provides a wealth of information and scientific background (his and others) that makes his book an excellent reference book. There a lot of technical terms used throughout the book and he explains all of them in an accessible language. He uses the metaphor of a `dream shaman` as a literary tool to identify with the reader and to link the personal-phenomenological information with the more formidable and specialized scientific literature.

Included in the book is a dream questionnaire that I found very useful and probes deeply into the kind of experiences dreamers are likely to describe if they experience both SP and LD or any other type of dream. A keeper.

I just finished re-reading this amazing and unusual book. A friend of mine who suffers from sleep paralysis (she is interested in any books about dreams!) recommended it to me.
Most books that I have read on the subject of dreams are either too "out there" or offer too little practical advice that I can incorporate into my dream life. Dr. Conessa Sevilla's book presents a well-balanced scientific, practical, "spooky" story, not only in regards to sleep paralysis, but about lucid dreaming as well.
His book also incorporates narratives of individuals who have experienced these dreams.
Some of the more psychological (bio-psychological or Freudian)explanations he offers, I must admit, were either new to me.
Finally, Dr. Conessa re-interprets the sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming experiences from the point of view of aesthetics.
Cordially,
J. Rodman

Although the Atlas of Sleep Medicine is 10 years old, it contains still relevant, quickly referenced information presented in a clear, concise manner. I have owned a copy for 6-7 years and find that it answers some questions faster and better than more recent texts.

At the time of issue it rated 4 stars. Due to its age and scope it now rates 3 stars.

A vital comapanion to the Atlas of Sleep Medicine is the Atlas of Clinical Polysomnography (5 stars but much more expensive) by Nick Butkov.

This is an excellent pictoral review of polysomnographs, essential for the people getting trained at reading and interpretating sleep studies (e.g. PSG technicians and Sleep Physicians). It provides basic information about different waveforms in EEG and respiratory tracings accompanies by pictures of polysomnographs.

An excellent story. Simply that. The dream mistress is about sleeping beauty, only in a different touch. Jenny Diksi has created a wonderful new look at what we normaly think, and does so with such skill. One of my very favorite authors, and one of my favorite books. Definately a talent worth knowing/reading.

Floating sometimes inscrutably between the life of a young clothing designer damaged by her turbulent childhood and the life of an old homeless woman clinging to anonymity, this book develops the reader's curiosity but never delivers. Each of the storylines revolves around a romantic love relationship, and the reader finds herself entwined in the parallel plots despite their occasional obtuseness. Though the ride is entertaining, the climax never materializes and the ending leaves the reader disappointed and bitter.