Healing Night: The Science and Spirit of Sleeping, Dreaming, and Awakening

by Rubin R. Naiman

In Healing Night , clinical psychologist Rubin R. Naiman explores sleeping, dreaming, and awakening, going far beyond the science of sleep medicine to reflect on what he believes is the profoundly spiritual nature of night consciousness. Naiman reveals how the erosion of night by artificial light and the devaluation of sleep and dreaming have led to an epidemic of sleep disorders and consequent days of chronically dazed waking consciousness. Drawing on both clinical experience and personal explorations, Naiman offers a fresh look at sleep and dreams, and provides alternative healing practices for sleep disturbances. Moreover, he challenges us to acknowledge our spiritual night blindness and embrace the sacredness of night. This edition was revised in 2009.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, Health

227 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Rubin Naiman, PhD, is a psychologist, clinical assistant professor of medicine and the sleep and dream specialist at the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, directed by Andrew Weil, MD. By merging scientific with psychological and spiritual approaches, Dr. Naiman has become a leader in the development of integrative approaches to sleep health.

Reviews

[Preandra Noel]

WOW WOW WOW! My dear friend, Ginny, gifted this book to me when I shared with her my pandemic period struggles around sleep and my hyper active dream space and I am extremely grateful that she did because I see and understand more clearly what I can do to change my relationship to the night in a way that heals me beyond the night as well. This book literally took my breath away. As I was reading the last lines, I literally gasped in amazement of the connections this book helped me make between sleep, dream, and the wake world. I not only gained more clarity around what I can do as an individual to nourish my life, but I also gained more clarity into the root of the struggles of our world today and how much power there still is for us to shift together into a culture that allows us to more fully heal the night collectively and, in turn, heal the experiences of our day. This book took me on a journey into a part of my life that I treasured but didn’t realize could be explored even further. I can’t wait to read this book again for a second time, so that I can more deeply absorb the tremendous wisdom that is imbued within it. A must read in my opinion! Thank you Dr. Rubin R. Naiman!!

[Robin]

This book approaches sleep from a holistic perspective, rather than a mechanical one, and discusses sleep deprivation and dream deprivation as distince problems with different symptoms. It was very interesting. We tried living with natural lighting (turning the lights off at dusk) for a week, and found it made a huge difference in the quality of our sleeping and waking. I thought this book was interesting enough that I would have bought a copy, except the paperback is $45. But I expect I will check it out from the library again.

[Mariana]

Slow down as night falls, dim the lights, and stay away from alcohol and sleeping pills. Remember dreams.

[Nathan Albright]

As someone whose sleep problems are pretty openly acknowledged [1], I frequently read books that talk about sleep.  Most of the books, quite sensibly, talk about how we as a contemporary society need to sleep more and better and that we do not do a good job at handling rest and recovery.  This book, as one might expect, is no different.  While there is a great deal I found about the book that was helpful and encouraging, as might be expected I found a great deal about the book that was less than enjoyable.  The author takes an approach to sleep that combines certain elements of science and technology and a history of science and technology (which is deeply interesting) and then adds to this approach a viewpoint that combines a lot of ancient heathen and Eastern religious.  Those readers who appreciate that an American sleep society took as its emblem a modification of the yin-yang symbol will find more about this book that interests them than than I found to be the case.  As for me, I found at least as much (if not more) to offend me than I found enjoyable about the book.

In about 200 pages the author covers ten chapters of material.  The author begins with a defense of the night in general given the way that modern technology has helped eliminate the darkness from our physical if not our moral and emotional world (1).  After this the author discusses the rhythm of rest (2) and the way that from dusk onward we are intended to surrender gradually to a healing sleep (3).  After that the author looks at darkness as a time of sleep and serenity (4), which many people in our time fail to find.  The author looks at dreams and dreamers (5) and the way that dawn is a time of gradual awakening (6).  After discussing sleeping pills the author discusses the way that we use medicines and drugs like caffeine to force ourselves awake in a daze (7).  The author discusses our need to make peace with the night and the darker sides of our nature (8), and contrasts the imaginative capacity of people with the way that we often seek to be entertained through the imaginative creations of others (9).  Finally, the author talks about how to integrate consciousness and (through sleep) unconsciousness into our lives and practice so that we may sleep better and live better than we do at present (10).

Yet although I found this book to have a great deal that was enjoyable, there was much I disliked about the book as well.  Like many contemporary authors, the author urges that readers integrate a lot of heathen meditation into their lives and practices, yoga and the mindless chanting of mantras and the like, and the author shows an unhealthy and extensive interest in Greek ancient religion and the heathen goddess Nyx and her supposed offspring.  Besides this, it appears that the author is writing from a Jungian perspective where the mental constructs of the unconscious and shadow and various other supposed aspects is viewed as fact rather than as speculation, and a fairly outdated speculation at that.  Even if there was a great deal about this book that was enjoyable and should be taken seriously, like our need to sleep better and recover some of the dreams that help our mind as well as body recover during the dark hours, the book simply has far too much wrong with it to recommend highly, although the author obviously considers himself to have written a work of great importance.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...

[Steve]

Artificial lighting, a relatively recent human invention, has upended our natural rhythms and those of all night creatures, moving us closer to hyperactivity 24/7. This has not been altogether good. This book is a reminder that daytime and nighttime are not so separate after all, or that our wholeness is totally dependent upon a healthy balance of both.

[Roberta Sorenson]

This is a generous four. I wanted to rate it a three based on the writing. I took a PESI course by Naiman, liked the content which made me think of sleep in a whole new way, then purchased the book. The content is useful and interesting, but disorganized and at times repetitive.

[Lisa Reda]

I found this book to be very informative as to sleep hygiene habits. The sleep problem in this country I blame on electronics and sleeping pills. I work at a Sleep Lab and see the problem first hand. I recommend this book to patients if they want to change their habits for the better.

[Andrea]

Some really thought provoking perspectives on sleep. I'll definitely be trying some of the suggestions and returning to this book often.

[Tanaya Larsen]

I took my time reading this book to really think about it. I liked the scientific background as well as the practical tips for better sleep at the end of each chapter.

[Audrey]

I found it really interesting to expand the concept of sleep from the mechanistic one of how many REMs we have to a holistic one that includes the night time. The author talks about how most sleeping problems have to do with our fear of looking at our dark side. All the sleep aids in the world will not help with that exploration.

[Melissa]

I have read about 3 different sleep books lately. This one made the most sense. Instead of focusing on just the logical medial My problems with sleep were lessened after I read this.

[Virginia Peppers]

Very "psychological," which I don't always agree with, but helpful, nonetheless. I agree totally with the affects of lighting at night on Melatonin.

[Jerry]

A bit difficult to apply, yet a wonderful reflection of what hinders our days and nights.