Sleep for Success! Everything You Must Know About Sleep But are Too Tired to Ask

by James B. Maas, Rebecca S. Robbins

Given the present, stress-inducing state of the economy and the world, there has never been a better time to provide a wake-up call on how to relax, get centered, get 8 hours of sleep and be happier and more successful. Recent research has shown us that when we get enough sleep, we are able to accomplish more in less time and with less stress and greater health. We don't need a 26-hour day. With more efficient and effective sleep habits, in our book, 24 hours is more than adequate. Our proposition is simple and compelling. Do you want to be healthier, more productive, energetic, creative, organized, efficient, and constantly expanding your potential? Do you want to be less stressed, happier, have a better relationship with yourself and others, and a deeper sense of well-being? What if you could take a few small steps every day that would enable you to eventually achieve all these things? You can. In fact, it's easy. " " "Sleep for Success!," a convincing, psychological approach to changing attitudes and behaviors, " "is written for anyone who wants to get a great night's sleep, feel wide-awake and be a peak performer all day. It pertains to executives, students, parents, athletes, children and senior citizens. If you're human, chances are that you are at least somewhat sleep deprived. Sleep for Success! can change your life - literally overnight.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Self Help

264 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 2010

About the author

James Beryl Maas was an American social psychologist and professor who was best known for his work in the field of sleep research, specifically the relationship between sleep and performance. He was best known for coining the term "power nap". He holds a B.A. from Williams College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. Maas also produced numerous film specials on sleep research for PBS, BBC, and others.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book after attending a lecture that the author gave. I was already convinced (even before the talk) that sleep is important; it seems obvious given how lousy I feel when I don't get enough of it. As such, I was disappointed by how many words are spent trying to convince readers of this point. There were several places where I was frustrated to see claims made without any references provided to support them:

"The best diet may not be Atkins or Jenny Craig; it's getting one additional hour of sleep every night. If you do that and you're currently overweight, expect to lose an average of one pound per week, all else being constant." (p. 63)

"Fatigued workers cost US employers more than $136 billion per year in lost productivity due to health-related issues. Fatigue and poor health often go together, and this is no coincidence. The study estimated that the prevalence of fatigue in the US workforce is about 38 percent." (p. 149, with no mention of which study is being quoted)

The book does provide some advice for getting the recommended 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night, but much of it is fairly obvious (don't try to fall asleep while stressed, don't drink alcohol before bed, make your room dark and quiet, etc.). I still found some of the suggestions interesting, though (avoid strenuous exercise, apart from sex, immediately before sleep; avoid looking at electronic displays that emit blue light that our brains associate with daytime -- programs like http://stereopsis.com/flux/ and http://jonls.dk/redshift/ are useful in this regard).

There's also a bit of discussion of the actual mechanics of sleep. I enjoyed reading about the different stages of sleep that our brains pass through throughout the night and the effects of getting woken at different points in the cycle (if you're woken within a few minutes of REM sleep, you'll usually be able to remember the dream you just had; if you're woken during Stage 4, the deepest stage, you'll feel groggy). I would've liked to see more detail here, and for it to be integrated with the advice that the book gives -- I was left with questions like, how deleterious is it to be woken a few times in the middle of the night vs. sleeping continuously? If I wake up an hour before I'd like to and am unable to fall back asleep, is there any value to remaining in bed?

I thought that the book also suffers from its writing style, which leans too far in the motivational direction for my tastes -- there are a lot of sentences like, "so read on, use what makes sense, and have your entire family getting Sleep for Success!". There are other touches presumably meant to add color that I thought distracted from the book's message: frequent stock comic strips that are at best tangentially related to the material around them, and short blurbs reviewing sleep-related products. Why are there positive reviews of cutesy alarm clocks that run and hide after they go off to make it harder for you to hit the snooze button? The advice section of the book says that you shouldn't need to use an alarm to wake up if you're going to bed at the correct time.

I did enjoy hearing the author speak, and his message makes sense -- I just wasn't impressed by this book as a vehicle for it.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This important book is in five parts and contains helpful charts and amusing pictures like the Wake 'n' Bacon Alarm Clock. There is also a sleep log that you can copy and fill out. I have to admit that I am on my second reading of this book. I read it nearly two years ago and have since let my bad sleep habits creep back up on me. True most of the information I already knew, but its helpful to have all of this information in one book. The book is divided into 5 parts.
Part 1: Everything you must know about your sleep habits but are too tired to ask.
Part 2: New discoveries in the science of sleep.
Part 3: A new look on how to get a great eight hours of sleep.
Part 4: New research that provides helpful solutions to common sleep challenges.
Part 5: An up-to-date look at sleep disorders and their treatment.

[Marcus Goncalves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of the information in this book is common sense and really a compilation of things I have heard over the years from many sources. Good insights if you have never dealt with this issue though.

[S C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected a lot more from this given the reviews. This book gives about as much helpful information as a small pamphlet you’d get from your doctor’s office. Most of it is very common sense or something you could find in any generic list of sleep tips when doing a Google search. It also contradicts itself at times (for example, sharing your bed with a pet is recommended on one page but is discouraged on another).

[Marie Munson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic lecturer!

[sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

did this have some good pointers? yes. will i be following any of them? probably not.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

fascinating! an important read because most people aren't sleeping enough!

[Matty C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly common sense. But good motivation to make changes.

[Peg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few good hints

I really only found the section on how to go about changing sleep times helpful. The rest I found myself skimming through.

[Colleen]

I'll read anything that might give me insight into dealing with sleep problems.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to understand sleep!

[Robin Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good suggestions for getting enough sleep. And the reason we need to get our sleep.