How to Sleep

Easy to read and comprehensive. This book offers real practical guidance.Matthew Walker, PhD, bestselling author of Why We SleepA MindBodyGreen Health & Well-Being Book for Your 2021 Reading List Anyone having trouble sleeping has heard all the old sleep hygiene rules: Dont drink caffeine after 2:00 p.m., use the bedroom only for sleeping, put down your screens an hour before going to bed. But as the millions suffering from poor sleep can attest, just following these overly simplistic, one-size-fits-all directives doesnt work. How to Sleep is here to rewrite the rules and help you get to sleepand stay asleepeach and every night. Dr. Rafael Pelayo, an expert sleep clinician and professor at the world-renowned Sleep Medicine Clinic at Stanford University, offers a medically comprehensive and holistic approach to the myriad issues that might be affecting your sleep. He begins by grounding us in the biology of sleep including the extremely reassuring fact that no one actually sleeps through the nightwe naturally wake up every ninety minutes. Dr. Pelayo then tackles the major sleep issues one by one, such as snoring and its causes; the difference between transient and chronic insomnia, and how to treat each; strategies to combat jet lag; how lifestyle choices affect your sleep, including exercise (even ten minutes helps), meditation (try it right before bed), and food and drink (alcohol is a double-edged swordit may help you fall asleep faster, but it often interferes with staying asleep). Theres advice for the bedroomon white noise machines, ambient temperature, what to look for in a pillowand answers to our most pressing questions, from when to see a sleep medicine specialist to how aging affects our sleep. All in all, its a sure prescription to help you sleep better, wake up refreshed, and live a healthier life.