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Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body
Acclaimed science writer Jennifer Ackerman lends her keen eye and lively voice to this marvellous exploration of the human body. Taking us through a typical day, from the arousal of the senses in the morning to the reverie of sleep and dreams, Ackerman reveals the human form as we’ve never seen it: busy, cunning, and miraculous.
Advances in genetics and medical imaging have allowed us to peer more deeply inside ourselves than ever before, revealing that we are intensely rhythmic creatures. The human body is like a clock ― an entire shop of clocks, actually ― measuring out the seconds, minutes, days, and seasons of life. Ackerman shows the importance of synchronising our actions with our biological rhythms ― and how defying them can cause us real harm.
We learn the best time of day to drink a cocktail, take a nap, run a race, give a presentation, and take medication, along with a host of other curious facts, such as why you succumb to a cold and your spouse doesn’t, even though you’ve both been exposed to the same sick child.
Did you know that you can tell time in your sleep? Or that up to half of the calories you consume can be burned off by fidgeting? That women have more nightmares than men? That tuna, sardines, and walnuts may ease depression?
At once entertaining and deeply practical, this fascinating book will make you think of your body in an entirely new way.
Advances in genetics and medical imaging have allowed us to peer more deeply inside ourselves than ever before, revealing that we are intensely rhythmic creatures. The human body is like a clock ― an entire shop of clocks, actually ― measuring out the seconds, minutes, days, and seasons of life. Ackerman shows the importance of synchronising our actions with our biological rhythms ― and how defying them can cause us real harm.
We learn the best time of day to drink a cocktail, take a nap, run a race, give a presentation, and take medication, along with a host of other curious facts, such as why you succumb to a cold and your spouse doesn’t, even though you’ve both been exposed to the same sick child.
Did you know that you can tell time in your sleep? Or that up to half of the calories you consume can be burned off by fidgeting? That women have more nightmares than men? That tuna, sardines, and walnuts may ease depression?
At once entertaining and deeply practical, this fascinating book will make you think of your body in an entirely new way.
253 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Jennifer Ackerman
24 books507 followersJennifer Ackerman has been writing about science and nature for three decades. She is the author of eight books, including the New York Times bestseller, The Genius of Birds, which has been translated into more than twenty languages. Her articles and essays have appeared in Scientific American, National Geographic, The New York Times, and many other publications. Ackerman is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship in Nonfiction, a Bunting Fellowship, and a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Her articles and essays have been included in several anthologies, among them Best American Science Writing, The Nature Reader, and Best Nature Writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
June 17, 2009
Last night, I ate too much, drank too much beer, and fell asleep too early. So I woke up at about three in the morning, feeling overheated, awake, and generally uncomfortable. I grabbed a nice tall glass of water, and pulled out this book to re-read this passage: "So-called diet-induced thermogenesis, or DIT, is the body's way of converting surplus calories directly into heat – in essence, wasting energy – and it varies a great deal from person to person. … Usually our cells burn only as much energy as they need to. But when we eat too much, the brain may sense the surfeit and activate DIT to burn off some of the excess calories as heat. One of the genes responsible for this neat feat makes a protein that acts as a kind of switch to rev up the amount of energy a cell burns in response to overeating."
I also found this passage: "Alcohol affects the thalamus, a region of the brain integral to sleep-wake rhythms and to the spindle waves that occur during stage 2 sleep. So sensitive is the thalamus, researchers say, that just a drink or two will make for lighter sleep in the middle of the night, or even full wakefulness."
Cool, no?
And so, that's why I liked this book. It's an attempt to offer brief details on the current state of knowledge in about a million different aspects of bodily functions – linking our behaviors and experiences with hormones and chemicals, bacteria and genes in the body. (And you still get the sense that we're still living in the dark ages. We still don't really know why we yawn. There's nothing in this book about hiccups, itching, or crying.) Ackerman is a writer by trade with a natural inclination toward scientific research that makes it an easy read.
The information is loosely organized by time of day, which makes sense given her emphasis on research studying circadian rhythms. At different times during the day, our bodies have different temperatures, varying levels of calorie production, varying levels of alertness, and so forth. Obviously a lot of what's interesting about the body is more constant (and therefore doesn't fall so neatly into her temporal structure), but a lot of the best material is about these cycles.
To wit: "Requiring older adolescents to attend school and attempt to take part in intellectually meaningful endeavors in the early morning may be biologically inappropriate." Young adults are clearly bothered by distraction in the morning, but later in the afternoon it is as if the distraction were invisible to them; meanwhile, the data for older adults show the opposite pattern. Also, levels of testosterone are significantly lower in the late evening and higher in the morning, cresting at about 8 a.m., while semen quality, ironically, peaks in the afternoon. One thing I never would have thought about is that giving cancer drugs at carefully selected times of day can maximize their therapeutic effects and minimize their toxic side effects.
Particularly interesting is the idea that in turning on lamps and lights after the sun has set, we unintentionally reset our "circadian pacemakers." We're not designed for jetlag or artificial light. Worst of all is taking on a job with a swing shift, which will really screw you up (high blood pressure, high rates of heart attacks and prostate cancer).
The book also, not surprisingly, acts as a self-help book too. A consequence of understanding bodily functions is understanding what not to do to your body. (For example, don't eat and drink too much before going to bed.)
There's a lot about stress remedies, and how meditation or music, humor and companionship can help a person. "More than a hundred studies have found that aerobic activity reduces feelings of anxiety. People who work out daily feel the biggest benefit, but just fifteen minutes of activity two or three times a week can lift spirits for two to four hours after exercise."
And she really has a lot of nice things to say about napping. "The latest siesta studies suggest that just fifteen to twenty minutes' rest sometime between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. can relieve fatigue, boost cognitive performance, and recharge your mental batteries. Longer naps of, say, forty-five minutes to an hour may require some recovery time – about twenty minutes or so – while the grogginess of sleep inertia wears off." Hooray!
I plan on keeping this book on my shelf for the simple reason that it has an index and I suspect I'll be looking up various passages again.
Here's a sampling of a few tidbits I deemed worthy of underlining:
"You may have been a sterile, singular being in the womb, but once you entered the birth canal and then the world of nipples and hands and bed sheets, you picked up an ark of microbial handmaidens. Soon the little buggers were everywhere, like words filling a page, in folds of skin, in orifices of nose and ears, and especially in the warm, cozy tunnels of your digestive tract, from mouth to anus."
Saliva is "a fluid made of 99 percent water and 1 percent magic – magic in the form of sodium ions, enzymes, and a host of other organic substances, among them bacteria-fighting mucins, without which our teeth would decay."
"When scientists recently analyzed a single gene that codes for a red-sensing protein in 236 people around the globe, they found 85 variants. … This variation likely gives us each a unique view of hues."
"More women than men have a heightened reaction to bitter taste, though the sensitivity seems to vary over a woman's lifetime, rising at puberty and peaking during early pregnancy. After menopause, the sensitivity tails off, possibly because there's no longer a need to protect a developing child."
"The body seems to respond to a loss of a few hours' sleep in the same way it responds to a deficit of about one thousand calories – by cueing its systems to slow metabolism, deposit more fat, and step up appetite, particularly for high-calorie foods."
"Contributing to the blood flow that initiates and sustains an erection is nitric oxide, the same gas formed during a lighting storm and so essential to the heavy breathing that accompanies exertion. In the penis, nitric oxide acts as a potent muscle relaxant on the smooth muscles that surround the blood vessel walls, allowing the vessels to dilate."
"A diet with little roughage will produce about four ounces of excrement a day; one rich in fruits, vegetables and grains, about thirteen. A diet of meat makes for the strongest smell; of milk, the mildest."
"Researchers estimated the transit time of meals from food to feces to be fifty-five hours for men and seventy-two hours for women."
I don't know about you, but I needed to know this stuff.
I also found this passage: "Alcohol affects the thalamus, a region of the brain integral to sleep-wake rhythms and to the spindle waves that occur during stage 2 sleep. So sensitive is the thalamus, researchers say, that just a drink or two will make for lighter sleep in the middle of the night, or even full wakefulness."
Cool, no?
And so, that's why I liked this book. It's an attempt to offer brief details on the current state of knowledge in about a million different aspects of bodily functions – linking our behaviors and experiences with hormones and chemicals, bacteria and genes in the body. (And you still get the sense that we're still living in the dark ages. We still don't really know why we yawn. There's nothing in this book about hiccups, itching, or crying.) Ackerman is a writer by trade with a natural inclination toward scientific research that makes it an easy read.
The information is loosely organized by time of day, which makes sense given her emphasis on research studying circadian rhythms. At different times during the day, our bodies have different temperatures, varying levels of calorie production, varying levels of alertness, and so forth. Obviously a lot of what's interesting about the body is more constant (and therefore doesn't fall so neatly into her temporal structure), but a lot of the best material is about these cycles.
To wit: "Requiring older adolescents to attend school and attempt to take part in intellectually meaningful endeavors in the early morning may be biologically inappropriate." Young adults are clearly bothered by distraction in the morning, but later in the afternoon it is as if the distraction were invisible to them; meanwhile, the data for older adults show the opposite pattern. Also, levels of testosterone are significantly lower in the late evening and higher in the morning, cresting at about 8 a.m., while semen quality, ironically, peaks in the afternoon. One thing I never would have thought about is that giving cancer drugs at carefully selected times of day can maximize their therapeutic effects and minimize their toxic side effects.
Particularly interesting is the idea that in turning on lamps and lights after the sun has set, we unintentionally reset our "circadian pacemakers." We're not designed for jetlag or artificial light. Worst of all is taking on a job with a swing shift, which will really screw you up (high blood pressure, high rates of heart attacks and prostate cancer).
The book also, not surprisingly, acts as a self-help book too. A consequence of understanding bodily functions is understanding what not to do to your body. (For example, don't eat and drink too much before going to bed.)
There's a lot about stress remedies, and how meditation or music, humor and companionship can help a person. "More than a hundred studies have found that aerobic activity reduces feelings of anxiety. People who work out daily feel the biggest benefit, but just fifteen minutes of activity two or three times a week can lift spirits for two to four hours after exercise."
And she really has a lot of nice things to say about napping. "The latest siesta studies suggest that just fifteen to twenty minutes' rest sometime between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. can relieve fatigue, boost cognitive performance, and recharge your mental batteries. Longer naps of, say, forty-five minutes to an hour may require some recovery time – about twenty minutes or so – while the grogginess of sleep inertia wears off." Hooray!
I plan on keeping this book on my shelf for the simple reason that it has an index and I suspect I'll be looking up various passages again.
Here's a sampling of a few tidbits I deemed worthy of underlining:
"You may have been a sterile, singular being in the womb, but once you entered the birth canal and then the world of nipples and hands and bed sheets, you picked up an ark of microbial handmaidens. Soon the little buggers were everywhere, like words filling a page, in folds of skin, in orifices of nose and ears, and especially in the warm, cozy tunnels of your digestive tract, from mouth to anus."
Saliva is "a fluid made of 99 percent water and 1 percent magic – magic in the form of sodium ions, enzymes, and a host of other organic substances, among them bacteria-fighting mucins, without which our teeth would decay."
"When scientists recently analyzed a single gene that codes for a red-sensing protein in 236 people around the globe, they found 85 variants. … This variation likely gives us each a unique view of hues."
"More women than men have a heightened reaction to bitter taste, though the sensitivity seems to vary over a woman's lifetime, rising at puberty and peaking during early pregnancy. After menopause, the sensitivity tails off, possibly because there's no longer a need to protect a developing child."
"The body seems to respond to a loss of a few hours' sleep in the same way it responds to a deficit of about one thousand calories – by cueing its systems to slow metabolism, deposit more fat, and step up appetite, particularly for high-calorie foods."
"Contributing to the blood flow that initiates and sustains an erection is nitric oxide, the same gas formed during a lighting storm and so essential to the heavy breathing that accompanies exertion. In the penis, nitric oxide acts as a potent muscle relaxant on the smooth muscles that surround the blood vessel walls, allowing the vessels to dilate."
"A diet with little roughage will produce about four ounces of excrement a day; one rich in fruits, vegetables and grains, about thirteen. A diet of meat makes for the strongest smell; of milk, the mildest."
"Researchers estimated the transit time of meals from food to feces to be fifty-five hours for men and seventy-two hours for women."
I don't know about you, but I needed to know this stuff.
June 5, 2019
هذا الكتاب كان رفيقي في آخر أيّام رمضان.. وقد استفدت منه جداً لأنّه مكتوب بطريقة بسيطة وميسرة
معلومات علمية قد تكون غريبة عليّ لكنها مفيدة.
هو فعلاً رحلة داخل جسدك، واكتشاف مُبهر لخفايا الجسم وأسراره.
أحببت فيه فصل النوم كثيراً وكيف يبدأ وما هو؟
وكيف نتذوق الأكل؟ وما هي حاسة الشمّ؟ والرياضة ما تفعله بأجسامنا؟
وغيرها كثير
أنصح به
معلومات علمية قد تكون غريبة عليّ لكنها مفيدة.
هو فعلاً رحلة داخل جسدك، واكتشاف مُبهر لخفايا الجسم وأسراره.
أحببت فيه فصل النوم كثيراً وكيف يبدأ وما هو؟
وكيف نتذوق الأكل؟ وما هي حاسة الشمّ؟ والرياضة ما تفعله بأجسامنا؟
وغيرها كثير
أنصح به
October 28, 2019
Puikiai atsimenu dieną, kai gavau šią knygą. Tik išėjusi iš pašto sugalvojau išimti knygą iš voko ir tiesiog perversti akimis – taip smalsu buvo pagaliau rankose laikyti tai, ką taip seniai norėjau perskaityti. Nors planavau tik žvilgtelėti minutėlę, vien tik įžanga prikaustė taip, kad akių tiesiog negalėjau atplėšti.
Taip prasidėjo mano ši neįtikėtina kelionė su knyga „Mylimės, miegame, valgome, geriame, sapnuojame: visa kūno gyvenimo diena“. Man visada buvo labai smalsu sužinoti, kodėl mūsų kūnas, pavyzdžiui, vieną kartą, nubudęs 6 ryto jaučiasi kur kas geriau, negu kitą kartą nubudęs 8 ryto. Taip pat būdavo smalsu išsiaiškinti, kas lemia, kad vieni žmonės dievina rytus ir tuomet jie būna produktyvūs, o kiti geriausiai dirba nakties metu. Ši knyga į tokius bei panašius klausimus ir atsako. Jennifer Ackerman šioje knygoje leidžiasi į kūno kelionę skirtingu paros metu – ryte, vidudienį, popietę, vakare ir naktį. Autorė, remdamasi įvairiais pavyzdžiais ir tyrimais, atsako į begalę klausimų, pavyzdžiui, kuriuo paros metu geriausia sportuoti arba kada išgertas alkoholis jūsų organizmui pakenks mažiausiai. Visa tai lemia mūsų vidinis laikrodis – cirkadiniai ritmai. Geriausia viso to dalis, kad kiekvienas iš mūsų galime pažinti savo kūną ir, prisitaikydami prie jo išskirtinumų, užtikrinti maksimaliai veiksmingą savo gyvenimo rutiną.
Man ši knyga buvo įdomi, edukacinė priemonė geriau pažinti save ir kasdienius procesus savo gyvenime. Pati knyga skaitėsi labai lengvai ir pateikė daug naudingos informacijos, kurią, tiesą sakant, net norėjosi pasibraukti pieštuku ir „įsidėti į galvą“. Jau žinau, kad tai bus knyga, kurią su mielu noru atsiversiu dar kartą tais momentais, kai norėsiu prisiminti svarbius gyvenimo kokybę keičiančius faktus. Trumpai tariant, rekomenduoju tiems, kurie nori geriau pažinti save.
Taip prasidėjo mano ši neįtikėtina kelionė su knyga „Mylimės, miegame, valgome, geriame, sapnuojame: visa kūno gyvenimo diena“. Man visada buvo labai smalsu sužinoti, kodėl mūsų kūnas, pavyzdžiui, vieną kartą, nubudęs 6 ryto jaučiasi kur kas geriau, negu kitą kartą nubudęs 8 ryto. Taip pat būdavo smalsu išsiaiškinti, kas lemia, kad vieni žmonės dievina rytus ir tuomet jie būna produktyvūs, o kiti geriausiai dirba nakties metu. Ši knyga į tokius bei panašius klausimus ir atsako. Jennifer Ackerman šioje knygoje leidžiasi į kūno kelionę skirtingu paros metu – ryte, vidudienį, popietę, vakare ir naktį. Autorė, remdamasi įvairiais pavyzdžiais ir tyrimais, atsako į begalę klausimų, pavyzdžiui, kuriuo paros metu geriausia sportuoti arba kada išgertas alkoholis jūsų organizmui pakenks mažiausiai. Visa tai lemia mūsų vidinis laikrodis – cirkadiniai ritmai. Geriausia viso to dalis, kad kiekvienas iš mūsų galime pažinti savo kūną ir, prisitaikydami prie jo išskirtinumų, užtikrinti maksimaliai veiksmingą savo gyvenimo rutiną.
Man ši knyga buvo įdomi, edukacinė priemonė geriau pažinti save ir kasdienius procesus savo gyvenime. Pati knyga skaitėsi labai lengvai ir pateikė daug naudingos informacijos, kurią, tiesą sakant, net norėjosi pasibraukti pieštuku ir „įsidėti į galvą“. Jau žinau, kad tai bus knyga, kurią su mielu noru atsiversiu dar kartą tais momentais, kai norėsiu prisiminti svarbius gyvenimo kokybę keičiančius faktus. Trumpai tariant, rekomenduoju tiems, kurie nori geriau pažinti save.
November 1, 2007
This is a physiological trip through your body over 24 hours. The author provides in-depth information, including studies that support the best times to engage in certain activities, the amount of sleep needed, why some people gain weight and other don't, etc.
I realized that I am an impatient reader because I got bored with the details of the body's inner workings and how the studies cited were set up and conducted. I was more interested in the outcomes and recommendations. This book would have worked better for me if it had been presented in an article with just the facts, but again that's probably my own preference.
In terms of writing style and structure, this author is excellent. In the end I did get the facts I was seeking because she effectively summarizes each segment, so that I could apply the findings to my daily life.
I realized that I am an impatient reader because I got bored with the details of the body's inner workings and how the studies cited were set up and conducted. I was more interested in the outcomes and recommendations. This book would have worked better for me if it had been presented in an article with just the facts, but again that's probably my own preference.
In terms of writing style and structure, this author is excellent. In the end I did get the facts I was seeking because she effectively summarizes each segment, so that I could apply the findings to my daily life.
February 26, 2022
Pora minčių:
🖋️ ..matymas keičia skonio pojūtį.
🖋️ Galvokite ryte. Veikite perpiet.
🖋️ ..matymas keičia skonio pojūtį.
🖋️ Galvokite ryte. Veikite perpiet.
December 12, 2008
This book is a great discussion of what we know about how the human body works, put into layman's terms. The author isn't a scientist herself, but (if I remember correctly) describes herself as a "science writer." She's also very good about citing her sources, and I didn't notice any leaps to conclusions that weren't based on data that she referenced, or weren't from actual scientists she quoted.
It's a quick read, not bogged down in scientific language, and uses stories from specific people to illustrate some points. It's really amazing how much we do know and don't know about our bodies, and how recent some of these discoveries have been. The sleep chapter was my favorite by far, and I'd recommend the book based on that section alone.
It's a quick read, not bogged down in scientific language, and uses stories from specific people to illustrate some points. It's really amazing how much we do know and don't know about our bodies, and how recent some of these discoveries have been. The sleep chapter was my favorite by far, and I'd recommend the book based on that section alone.
May 22, 2008
I have no idea why this book is priced at just under $60, as it was a rather slim volume. I also have no idea why you'd set out to write a book about human function but only write so little about it. I say that predominantly because I could read about the subject all day, every day and wanted this book to be longer for selfish reasons.
Ackerman writes about the human body with style and she managed to cram quite a lot of facts in this rather short book without it feeling like you were taking too much in. I carried it everywhere with me and was often to be found reading paragraphs out to whoever sat or stood near me; the things that make up the odor of bad breath was particularly interesting. If you have no qualms about addressing a loved one's (or even a stranger's) halitosis, then be sure to tout some of the facts learned in this book to them. You can call them cadaver breath. It ensured my partner addressed his issue with post-nasal drip rather hastily.
Definintely worth a read but do as I did and wait until you've got a discount voucher in your hot, sweaty little hands so that you don't feel ripped off when you get three quarters of the way through and realise that the end comes there, because the rest is thankyou spiels and notes. Also, be warned that if you didn't already think of your body as a heaving mass of meat and germs, hormones and fluids, cells and organs - then you will do so after this. This suited me fine, because I often said to people, 'Isn't it weird that we're just this huge tower of organs, encased in an even larger organ? We're like big sacks of ... organs!' Now I feel justfied.
Ackerman writes about the human body with style and she managed to cram quite a lot of facts in this rather short book without it feeling like you were taking too much in. I carried it everywhere with me and was often to be found reading paragraphs out to whoever sat or stood near me; the things that make up the odor of bad breath was particularly interesting. If you have no qualms about addressing a loved one's (or even a stranger's) halitosis, then be sure to tout some of the facts learned in this book to them. You can call them cadaver breath. It ensured my partner addressed his issue with post-nasal drip rather hastily.
Definintely worth a read but do as I did and wait until you've got a discount voucher in your hot, sweaty little hands so that you don't feel ripped off when you get three quarters of the way through and realise that the end comes there, because the rest is thankyou spiels and notes. Also, be warned that if you didn't already think of your body as a heaving mass of meat and germs, hormones and fluids, cells and organs - then you will do so after this. This suited me fine, because I often said to people, 'Isn't it weird that we're just this huge tower of organs, encased in an even larger organ? We're like big sacks of ... organs!' Now I feel justfied.
April 27, 2020
2,5, jeigu būti visiškai tiksliai. Kažkaip “užbuksavau” aš su šia viena kūno gyvenimo diena. Ir ne todėl, kad būtų neįmanoma perskaityti teksto dėl jo paviršutiniškumo, arba atvirkščiai, dėl pernelyg didelio moksliškumo, kuomet nesupranti trečdalio teksto, dėl jame vartojamos terminijos. Bet todėl, kad dalis šioje knygoje pateiktų faktų apie mūsų kūną yra daug detaliau jau aprašyta jeigu ne atskiromos knygomis, tai tikrai publikuotais mokslo populiarinimo straipsniais. Kita dalis tokie šiaip sau. Ne todėl, kad nesvarbūs, bet todėl, kad apie juos tik užsimenama, bet nesusotojama. Tuomet apima jausmas, kad apie visiems žinomus faktus lyg ir turi dar kartą skaityti, o jau tie, kurie galbūt ir būtų naujas atradimas, paminimi tik keletu eilučių (jau jau jau... ir bac.... kita tema).
Iš ties, tai nėra bloga ar menkavertė knyga. Tik skirta ji tikėtina, kad pradedančiajam, kuris iki šiol neturi apskritai jokių žinių apie žmogaus anatomiją ir fiziologiją, nėra skaitęs kitų, su šia tema susijusių knygų ir tiesiog nori greitai “išklausyti” kursą.
“Ugnies žemės gyventojų kalboje yra žodis mamihlapinatapei. Jos pateko į Guinnesso rekordų knygą kaip talpiausias, apimantis plačiausią reikšmę. Šis žodis reiškia “žvelgti vienas kitam į akis, kai abu viliasi, kad kitas imsis to, ko trokšta abu, bet nė vienas nesiryžta žengti pirmojo žingsnio”.
Iš ties, tai nėra bloga ar menkavertė knyga. Tik skirta ji tikėtina, kad pradedančiajam, kuris iki šiol neturi apskritai jokių žinių apie žmogaus anatomiją ir fiziologiją, nėra skaitęs kitų, su šia tema susijusių knygų ir tiesiog nori greitai “išklausyti” kursą.
“Ugnies žemės gyventojų kalboje yra žodis mamihlapinatapei. Jos pateko į Guinnesso rekordų knygą kaip talpiausias, apimantis plačiausią reikšmę. Šis žodis reiškia “žvelgti vienas kitam į akis, kai abu viliasi, kad kitas imsis to, ko trokšta abu, bet nė vienas nesiryžta žengti pirmojo žingsnio”.
May 29, 2018
Smart little book with tons of interesting studies and factoids about the human body.
November 26, 2017
I enjoyed this in-depth look at the daily acts we take for granted.
April 20, 2018
Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream. A Day in the Life of Your Body.
Jennifer Ackerman's full title is very catchy and will pull your eye in with interest. According to her bio, Ackerman is an author who writes for National Geographic and The New York Times among other publications. In A Day in the Life of Your Body, Ackerman uses enough scientific wording to be accurate and enlightening while at the same time providing her audience with an easy and engaging read. The book is a journey through those topics she found most interesting. Her interest in writing this book and on the marvelous human body was piqued when she succumbed to the flu. We can all attest to how that nasty little virus will make us wake up and notice every nook and cranny of our bodies, mainly because every part feels like it isn't working at all!
The book is structured with sections and chapters as though the reader is witnessing a 24-hour period of time that an average, healthy body would experience. From awakening to battling mild insomnia and many more biological ticks in between, so much is included in this book. She writes of the differences between "larks" and "owls" and their preferences for when to retire for the night; the affect of coffee on the body and how it works; facts about our senses and the functioning of the synapses in the brain; the feeling of hunger and why the hormones leptin and ghrelin are so very important in the right amounts; digestion and how micro flora can affect weight; that dreaded mid-day slump and the power of napping; stress and how the body handles it-or doesn't; the best time for alcohol and exercise; face recognition; pheromones; the neurobiology of caresses and sex; sickness and the best time of day for taking medicine; the mystery of the ways and whys of sleep. Every reader should be able to find a topic of interest in this book.
Circadian rhythms seem to be a thread recurring throughout the book. The power of the circadian rhythms dominating the behavior and functioning of the body has proven to be mightily overlooked in many societies. And yet they are so very vital to our daily-and nightly-existence. There is a master clock in the brain inside the hypothalamus. The structure resides on both the left and right hemispheres and consists of thousands of neurons. This structure is known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).
"The SCN measures the passage of a twenty-four hour day by producing and using special proteins in a circadian pattern. It controls and organizes the big rhythms of the body so that its sleep functions are optimal at night and its wakeful functions during the day...Though the master clock oversees the body's cyclical rhythms, the genetic timepieces pocketed in the cells of outlying tissues and organs may follow their own routines...to ensure that a particular organ has what it needs when it needs it, and timing its activities according to its own priorities."
Digging deeper into the knowledge of these rhythms we find that they are extremely fine-tuned. The impact of just a small amount of artificial light can disrupt and reset these rhythms. There are reasons for the setting of the sun every day. If we had perpetual light there would be no opportunity for the cascade of hormones and other changes that make the body ready for sleep. It makes one ponder on the magnitude of circadian destruction done by the megacities of the world or by the hours kept by night workers. Sleep is precious. Truly, we would literally die without it.
"Imagine if we could feel the rotation of these intimate circles that drive our bodies. Perhaps this would temper our habit of ticking off digitized minutes and linear hours; perhaps it would restore our childlike experience of time as a revolving ring made of the smaller circumferences of a day. At the very least it might nurture more respect for our natural cyclical rhythms."
I chose to post a review of this book first because it resonates with a deep passion of mine: the human body. The complexity and beauty in its minutiae leaves me in awe every time. I hope some day to know absolutely everything about it.
www.lostincodex.com
All quotes provided by Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream. A Day in the Life of Your Body by Jennifer Ackerman.
Jennifer Ackerman's full title is very catchy and will pull your eye in with interest. According to her bio, Ackerman is an author who writes for National Geographic and The New York Times among other publications. In A Day in the Life of Your Body, Ackerman uses enough scientific wording to be accurate and enlightening while at the same time providing her audience with an easy and engaging read. The book is a journey through those topics she found most interesting. Her interest in writing this book and on the marvelous human body was piqued when she succumbed to the flu. We can all attest to how that nasty little virus will make us wake up and notice every nook and cranny of our bodies, mainly because every part feels like it isn't working at all!
The book is structured with sections and chapters as though the reader is witnessing a 24-hour period of time that an average, healthy body would experience. From awakening to battling mild insomnia and many more biological ticks in between, so much is included in this book. She writes of the differences between "larks" and "owls" and their preferences for when to retire for the night; the affect of coffee on the body and how it works; facts about our senses and the functioning of the synapses in the brain; the feeling of hunger and why the hormones leptin and ghrelin are so very important in the right amounts; digestion and how micro flora can affect weight; that dreaded mid-day slump and the power of napping; stress and how the body handles it-or doesn't; the best time for alcohol and exercise; face recognition; pheromones; the neurobiology of caresses and sex; sickness and the best time of day for taking medicine; the mystery of the ways and whys of sleep. Every reader should be able to find a topic of interest in this book.
Circadian rhythms seem to be a thread recurring throughout the book. The power of the circadian rhythms dominating the behavior and functioning of the body has proven to be mightily overlooked in many societies. And yet they are so very vital to our daily-and nightly-existence. There is a master clock in the brain inside the hypothalamus. The structure resides on both the left and right hemispheres and consists of thousands of neurons. This structure is known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).
"The SCN measures the passage of a twenty-four hour day by producing and using special proteins in a circadian pattern. It controls and organizes the big rhythms of the body so that its sleep functions are optimal at night and its wakeful functions during the day...Though the master clock oversees the body's cyclical rhythms, the genetic timepieces pocketed in the cells of outlying tissues and organs may follow their own routines...to ensure that a particular organ has what it needs when it needs it, and timing its activities according to its own priorities."
Digging deeper into the knowledge of these rhythms we find that they are extremely fine-tuned. The impact of just a small amount of artificial light can disrupt and reset these rhythms. There are reasons for the setting of the sun every day. If we had perpetual light there would be no opportunity for the cascade of hormones and other changes that make the body ready for sleep. It makes one ponder on the magnitude of circadian destruction done by the megacities of the world or by the hours kept by night workers. Sleep is precious. Truly, we would literally die without it.
"Imagine if we could feel the rotation of these intimate circles that drive our bodies. Perhaps this would temper our habit of ticking off digitized minutes and linear hours; perhaps it would restore our childlike experience of time as a revolving ring made of the smaller circumferences of a day. At the very least it might nurture more respect for our natural cyclical rhythms."
I chose to post a review of this book first because it resonates with a deep passion of mine: the human body. The complexity and beauty in its minutiae leaves me in awe every time. I hope some day to know absolutely everything about it.
www.lostincodex.com
All quotes provided by Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream. A Day in the Life of Your Body by Jennifer Ackerman.
June 15, 2013
erwijl wij iedere dag onze dagelijkse dingen doen – opstaan, ontbijten, naar het werk gaan, werken, lunchen, thuiskomen, eten, ontspannen, slapen – zijn er in onze lichamen talloze processen aan de gang, die we (gelukkig) meestal niet opmerken, maar die wel degelijk hun invloed laten gelden in de dingen die we doen. Met name de wijze waarop we de dingen doen en hoe we onze dag ervaren, is niet alleen afhankelijk van externe factoren, maar ook sterk afhankelijk van lichamelijke processen. Veel van die processen zijn cyclisch van aard, er zitten heel wat biochemische klokken in ons lichaam, die ervoor zorgen dat wij adequaat kunnen functioneren.
Met name over die verborgen kant van ons bestaan, over de cyclische processen die in ons lichaam plaatsvinden, heeft wetenschapsjournaliste Jennifer Ackerman een prachtig en fascinerend boek geschreven, wat ook nog eens uitstekend vertaald is. Ackermans werk verscheen onder andere in National Geographic Magazine en de New York Times en werd meermalen bekroond. In 13 hoofdstukken, die chronologisch zijn ingedeeld aan de hand van de verschillende momenten van onze dagindeling, beschrijft ze o.a. wat er gebeurt als we wakker worden, hoe het komt dat we tijdens de lunch honger krijgen, waarom we na de lunch veelal last hebben van een dipje en wat we daartegen kunnen doen (nl. eraan toegeven), waardoor stress ontstaat, wanneer de beste tijd is om lichaamsbeweging te ondernemen, waarom we vooral ’s avonds (tussen elf en twaalf) seks hebben, en waarom we slapen en dromen.
Niet alleen levert Ackerman inzicht in wat er zich onderhuids afspeelt, maar bovendien kan een ieder zich herkennen in de ervaringen die Ackerman beschrijft. Daarbij gaat ze uit van de nieuwste inzichten op medisch gebied, zoals uit de zeer uitgebreide bronvermelding achterin het boek blijkt. De hoeveelheid materiaal waaruit de schrijfster geput heeft is immens, en het is wonderbaarlijk hoe geordend ze alles op papier heeft gekregen, maar uit het dankwoord blijkt dan ook dat ze maar liefst vier jaar aan het boek gewerkt heeft.
Ackermans enthousiasme en fascinatie spatten van de bladzijden en werken aanstekelijk. Je voelt hoe ze gefascineerd wordt door de materie waarover ze schrijft. (Ze wilde oorspronkelijk medicijnen gaan studeren, zo schrijft ze, maar liet dit voornemen na een stressvolle periode los.) Bovendien leest dit boek als een trein, of liever: het is als een ritje met de achtbaan, waarin je van de ene in de andere verbazing valt. Dit is zoals wetenschapspopularisatie hoort te zijn: een wetenschappelijk verhaal vertellen wat dicht bij de lezer komt, en wat ook nog lang na het lezen blijft hangen. Dit boek maakt je bewust van een onderhuidse werkelijkheid die voor de meesten van ons onzichtbaar is, maar die ons dagelijks doen en laten beïnvloedt. Bovendien heeft dit boek de potentie om de manier waarop je je dagelijkse leven leeft en beleeft te veranderen. Een fantastisch boek!
Met name over die verborgen kant van ons bestaan, over de cyclische processen die in ons lichaam plaatsvinden, heeft wetenschapsjournaliste Jennifer Ackerman een prachtig en fascinerend boek geschreven, wat ook nog eens uitstekend vertaald is. Ackermans werk verscheen onder andere in National Geographic Magazine en de New York Times en werd meermalen bekroond. In 13 hoofdstukken, die chronologisch zijn ingedeeld aan de hand van de verschillende momenten van onze dagindeling, beschrijft ze o.a. wat er gebeurt als we wakker worden, hoe het komt dat we tijdens de lunch honger krijgen, waarom we na de lunch veelal last hebben van een dipje en wat we daartegen kunnen doen (nl. eraan toegeven), waardoor stress ontstaat, wanneer de beste tijd is om lichaamsbeweging te ondernemen, waarom we vooral ’s avonds (tussen elf en twaalf) seks hebben, en waarom we slapen en dromen.
Niet alleen levert Ackerman inzicht in wat er zich onderhuids afspeelt, maar bovendien kan een ieder zich herkennen in de ervaringen die Ackerman beschrijft. Daarbij gaat ze uit van de nieuwste inzichten op medisch gebied, zoals uit de zeer uitgebreide bronvermelding achterin het boek blijkt. De hoeveelheid materiaal waaruit de schrijfster geput heeft is immens, en het is wonderbaarlijk hoe geordend ze alles op papier heeft gekregen, maar uit het dankwoord blijkt dan ook dat ze maar liefst vier jaar aan het boek gewerkt heeft.
Ackermans enthousiasme en fascinatie spatten van de bladzijden en werken aanstekelijk. Je voelt hoe ze gefascineerd wordt door de materie waarover ze schrijft. (Ze wilde oorspronkelijk medicijnen gaan studeren, zo schrijft ze, maar liet dit voornemen na een stressvolle periode los.) Bovendien leest dit boek als een trein, of liever: het is als een ritje met de achtbaan, waarin je van de ene in de andere verbazing valt. Dit is zoals wetenschapspopularisatie hoort te zijn: een wetenschappelijk verhaal vertellen wat dicht bij de lezer komt, en wat ook nog lang na het lezen blijft hangen. Dit boek maakt je bewust van een onderhuidse werkelijkheid die voor de meesten van ons onzichtbaar is, maar die ons dagelijks doen en laten beïnvloedt. Bovendien heeft dit boek de potentie om de manier waarop je je dagelijkse leven leeft en beleeft te veranderen. Een fantastisch boek!
September 15, 2009
This book follows your body and its inner workings over a 24-hour period.
Despite being based heavily in scientific studies and research, the content was readable, engaging, and easy to understand. Given my penchance for random factoids, I found myself constantly nudging my husband and asking him if he knew that you're most likely to die in the early morning hours (5AM-ish to 7AM-ish) because blood pressure and cortisol production begin to ramp up in anticipation of your waking up.
Or that WHEN chemotherapy is given has a definite effect on side effects and survival rates? Or how about the fact that the doctor (William Steward Halsted - surgeon who worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital around the turn of the 20th century) who is credited with starting the long hours of doctors and interns was actually addicted to cocaine? No wonder he thought working around the clock was such a great idea! And what about the fact that shift work and cancer rates are linked?
Lots of fascinating info about your body including the best (and worst) times to do certain tasks (i.e. schedule a dental appointment, take medication, work out, schedule surgery, etc.) and how to best work with your body's natural rhythm. Great read - highly recommend.
Despite being based heavily in scientific studies and research, the content was readable, engaging, and easy to understand. Given my penchance for random factoids, I found myself constantly nudging my husband and asking him if he knew that you're most likely to die in the early morning hours (5AM-ish to 7AM-ish) because blood pressure and cortisol production begin to ramp up in anticipation of your waking up.
Or that WHEN chemotherapy is given has a definite effect on side effects and survival rates? Or how about the fact that the doctor (William Steward Halsted - surgeon who worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital around the turn of the 20th century) who is credited with starting the long hours of doctors and interns was actually addicted to cocaine? No wonder he thought working around the clock was such a great idea! And what about the fact that shift work and cancer rates are linked?
Lots of fascinating info about your body including the best (and worst) times to do certain tasks (i.e. schedule a dental appointment, take medication, work out, schedule surgery, etc.) and how to best work with your body's natural rhythm. Great read - highly recommend.
November 11, 2019
Knyga yra suskirstyta į dienos ritmo režimą: rytas, vidudienis, popietė, vakaras, naktis. Bet kiekvienas skyrius turi dar po kelias antraštes. Pavyzdžiui, POPIETĖ: apatija, išsekimas, judėjimas. Tai - lyg mažas gidas ką rasime tame skyriuje ir į kokias kūno įdomybes leisimės, suprasime kodėl tai vyksta.
Daug mokslinių faktų, statistikos, tyrimų reikalavo mano dėmesio ir susikaupimo. Skaičiau kiek lėtesniu tempu, kad knygos informaciją gerai suprasčiau ir įsiminčiau.
Skaitant buvo įdomu, smalsu, bet buvo vietų, kurias perskaičius įspūdis neaiškus ir toks jausmas, kad autorė skubėjo rašyti arba aš jos minties nesupratau. Bet man tikrai patiko autorės rašymo stilius, kuris skaitytojui lengvai suprantamas, o ne sausas, moksline kalba parašytas tekstas.
380 puslapių - viena para, tiek mums reikia, kad arčiau susipažintume su cirkadiniu ritmu ir pajustume kas vyksta su mūsų kūnu.
Daug mokslinių faktų, statistikos, tyrimų reikalavo mano dėmesio ir susikaupimo. Skaičiau kiek lėtesniu tempu, kad knygos informaciją gerai suprasčiau ir įsiminčiau.
Skaitant buvo įdomu, smalsu, bet buvo vietų, kurias perskaičius įspūdis neaiškus ir toks jausmas, kad autorė skubėjo rašyti arba aš jos minties nesupratau. Bet man tikrai patiko autorės rašymo stilius, kuris skaitytojui lengvai suprantamas, o ne sausas, moksline kalba parašytas tekstas.
380 puslapių - viena para, tiek mums reikia, kad arčiau susipažintume su cirkadiniu ritmu ir pajustume kas vyksta su mūsų kūnu.
January 22, 2009
I wanted more! Well researched and very interesting, esp. for us anatomy nerds out there it wasn't enough. Seemed the author sold herself short -not writing a longer book and going mre in depth on some topics, exploring others . . .
December 2, 2008
This is a very interesting book so far, I'm almost finished!
January 17, 2009
Popular science. It was fun to read and I learned lots of neat little things about us humans.
April 8, 2018
Few interesting tidbits surrounded by a lot if dullness.
October 14, 2019
A little more matter of fact than I was thinking itd be, but cool to understand the stages your body goes thru, and why, every day!
January 22, 2017
العالم من دوننا ل
الكاتبة : د.جينيفر أكيرمان
عدد الصفحات: 310
كم مرة حاولنا أن نوجه عيوننا للداخل , لنرى بها دمائنا و تجاويف الجمجمة عوضاً عن كونها دائماً متجهة نحو العالم الخارجي ؟ .. بإمكانك صباح الغد سيدي أو سيدتي المستيقظين الآن أن تنادي على زملائك في العمل ووالديك وكل المحيطين بك , بـ صباح الخير أيها/ أيتها المجرة (لربما متجاهلين بعض قواعد اللغة). هذا الكتاب يوضح كيف يفكر جسمنا لا نحن , ولطالما ظننا أننا نتمنع بإرادة حرة ! لكن أي أرادة هذه التي نتحدث عنها , إن كل شي تم اختياره من قبل جينات موجودة في دمائك , لدرجة أي نوع من الملابس ستختار رغم انك تؤكد أنك ارتديت هكذا لأنها كانت أول ما ظهر أمامك في الصباح الباكر. كيف نشعر بالجوع و الشبع و بهذه الحالة ومما هو مفيد للفتيات معرفته أن هرمون الجوع يدعى الغرلين بينما هرمون الشبع اللبتين والذي اشتهر بمواجهته للسمنة فهو من يرسل إشارات الشبع للدماغ..
إن أهم ما نوه إليه الكتاب هو الوقت , إنه لمن المهم أن يراقب الإنسان ماذا يفعل لكنه من الأهم أن يراقب متى يفعل ذلك , فقد أوضحت الدراسات علاقة الوقت في استجابة الجسم للدواء كما أوضحت أوقات النوم وعلاقتها بكفاءة وجودة العمل , وعندما نتحدث عن الوقت فإننا نعني وخاصة في الحالة الأولى الوقت الداخلي في الجسم , أي تقسيم ساعات الجسم ومتى تعرف هذه الخلايا أو تعتبر أن الوقت ليل أو نهار. كما تطرق لمعلومة جميلة وهي السفر عبر المناطق الزمنية أي الطيران إلى دول مختلفة تختلف فيها الساعات حيث تأخذ أعضاء الجسم وقتاً ولربما ساعات أو أسابيع لتعيد ضبط ساعاتها الداخلية لذا يمكن لك أن تكون في مكان وكبدك مثلاً لايزال يظن نفسه في منزلك.
كتاب قيم جداً , يجب على الإنسان أن يقرأه , أولاً بغرض المعرفة , ثانياً بغرض قلب مناظيرنا إلى الداخل والتعرف إلى جسدنا بشكل أفضل
للمستيقظين الآن لابد لكم أن تخلدوا للنوم لأن قلة النوم تقلل من الكفاءة والتركيز ويعطي الجسد رد فعل مشابه لاحتوائه على نسب من الكحول بحسب عدد الساعات التي لم يحصل فيها الجسم على النوم.
الكاتبة : د.جينيفر أكيرمان
عدد الصفحات: 310
كم مرة حاولنا أن نوجه عيوننا للداخل , لنرى بها دمائنا و تجاويف الجمجمة عوضاً عن كونها دائماً متجهة نحو العالم الخارجي ؟ .. بإمكانك صباح الغد سيدي أو سيدتي المستيقظين الآن أن تنادي على زملائك في العمل ووالديك وكل المحيطين بك , بـ صباح الخير أيها/ أيتها المجرة (لربما متجاهلين بعض قواعد اللغة). هذا الكتاب يوضح كيف يفكر جسمنا لا نحن , ولطالما ظننا أننا نتمنع بإرادة حرة ! لكن أي أرادة هذه التي نتحدث عنها , إن كل شي تم اختياره من قبل جينات موجودة في دمائك , لدرجة أي نوع من الملابس ستختار رغم انك تؤكد أنك ارتديت هكذا لأنها كانت أول ما ظهر أمامك في الصباح الباكر. كيف نشعر بالجوع و الشبع و بهذه الحالة ومما هو مفيد للفتيات معرفته أن هرمون الجوع يدعى الغرلين بينما هرمون الشبع اللبتين والذي اشتهر بمواجهته للسمنة فهو من يرسل إشارات الشبع للدماغ..
إن أهم ما نوه إليه الكتاب هو الوقت , إنه لمن المهم أن يراقب الإنسان ماذا يفعل لكنه من الأهم أن يراقب متى يفعل ذلك , فقد أوضحت الدراسات علاقة الوقت في استجابة الجسم للدواء كما أوضحت أوقات النوم وعلاقتها بكفاءة وجودة العمل , وعندما نتحدث عن الوقت فإننا نعني وخاصة في الحالة الأولى الوقت الداخلي في الجسم , أي تقسيم ساعات الجسم ومتى تعرف هذه الخلايا أو تعتبر أن الوقت ليل أو نهار. كما تطرق لمعلومة جميلة وهي السفر عبر المناطق الزمنية أي الطيران إلى دول مختلفة تختلف فيها الساعات حيث تأخذ أعضاء الجسم وقتاً ولربما ساعات أو أسابيع لتعيد ضبط ساعاتها الداخلية لذا يمكن لك أن تكون في مكان وكبدك مثلاً لايزال يظن نفسه في منزلك.
كتاب قيم جداً , يجب على الإنسان أن يقرأه , أولاً بغرض المعرفة , ثانياً بغرض قلب مناظيرنا إلى الداخل والتعرف إلى جسدنا بشكل أفضل
للمستيقظين الآن لابد لكم أن تخلدوا للنوم لأن قلة النوم تقلل من الكفاءة والتركيز ويعطي الجسد رد فعل مشابه لاحتوائه على نسب من الكحول بحسب عدد الساعات التي لم يحصل فيها الجسم على النوم.
January 30, 2022
3.5 stars. I found this book enlightening but not revelatory, interesting but not fascinating. I was drawn in to some chapters more than others, and would recommend those written on eating, stress and sleep (which also appear to be related). However I did find the writing to be a bit clunky, which at times served to be a distraction.
What it did provide for me though was references to some other books for me to dive deeper into the topics that interested me the most. Over all this is an interesting broad look at the general workings of the human body which is in a fairly neat pick-up-put-down format, but could probably have been written a bit better.
What it did provide for me though was references to some other books for me to dive deeper into the topics that interested me the most. Over all this is an interesting broad look at the general workings of the human body which is in a fairly neat pick-up-put-down format, but could probably have been written a bit better.
December 28, 2021
One sign that I've really liked a book is when my husband tells me he doesn't need to read it because I've read most of it to him. That's the case with "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream." Ms. Ackerman takes the things - breathing, sleeping, digestion - that we take for granted as mundane, highlights how truly marvelous these things are, then shows how we've proceeded to throw wrenches into these highly evolved processes by "lighting up the night," sitting too much, eating when it makes no sense to do so, and even by traveling. If you have a human body, this book is about you.
June 15, 2018
What a great read! The author does a wonderful job of summarizing and explaining concepts related to chronobiology. (Hint, there's a very good reason why I am writing this review at 3:00pm!!) My recommendation, dear readers, is that you read this book. You will think about yourself and others around you in a completely different way!
January 23, 2018
Well written
Good book about the actions of the body, written in simple layman's terms. Focus is on the daily circadian rhythm and how this rhythm causes changes throughout the body.
Good book about the actions of the body, written in simple layman's terms. Focus is on the daily circadian rhythm and how this rhythm causes changes throughout the body.
November 5, 2018
This book was absolutely fascinating! Basically if you’re looking for an insight on your body works on a daily basis, read this book! I also found that it was the perfect balance between somewhat narrative nonfiction, or at least nonfiction for the casual reader, and scientific knowledge.
January 24, 2022
Nao é um livro para ler de enfiada, não é nenhuma historia com inicio meio e fim, mas é para se ir lendo. É um poço de conhecimento, vale muito a pena ter na mesinha de cabeceira e ler 1 capitulo por dia!
October 24, 2022
An interesting book that describes the human body as it passes through a typical day. Current research and studies are mentioned, which brings the reader up-to-date with the latest findings. Well researched and written. A worthwhile read.
March 4, 2017
A great book, I learned so much and had so much fun reading it!
January 2, 2018
Human body metabolism day-to-day.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews