The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It

27. The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It by W. Chris Winter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So is my sleep totally awesome now that I've finished reading this book? Not yet, but I feel more confident that I'll get there. In addition to more in depth sleep hygiene tips, the book spends a fair amount of time addressing attitudes towards sleep. I understand how some people will push back on those ideas, but I do find that shifting my expectations has helped.

The Ice Bucket Sleep Challenge sounds brutal but effective for resetting your brain to sleep well. I'm starting with less drastic measures, but I may try a less extreme variant of it down the line. Counter-intuitively, you restrict the window of time during which you'll sleep. Sleeping more is not necessarily better if you spend all the extra time trying to fall asleep or get back to sleep; it makes your sleep less efficient which makes you feel worse.

Board-certified neurologist and sleep specialist Dr. Winter has a sense of humor, so the book is an entertaining read as he describes how sleep does and doesn't work and what to do about it.

Not everything is a simple fix, but it makes sense to start with what you can control.


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