The rare book that may help sufferers of poor sleep improve their quality of rest simply by elucidating the context of good...
A no-nonsense, science-based guide to achieving restful sleep from the doctor Ariana Huffington calls the "sleep whisperer.”
Right off the bat, Winter, a board-certified neurologist and sleep medicine specialist, dispels a powerful sleep myth: he asserts that everyone sleeps. In fact, he argues that insomnia is not an inability to sleep; instead, it reflects a person’s dissatisfaction with the quality of the sleep and, in many cases, an accompanying anxiety about a perceived lack of sleep. This reorientation of the problem casts a long shadow on the crowded market of sleep solutions, and the author cuts through the noise of pharmaceuticals and gimmicks to propose natural, implementable solutions that anyone can try at home. Throughout the book, his tone is refreshingly conversational, and while he backs up his suggestions with established research, he keeps the jargon to a minimum and focuses on clearly laying out a) the most common reasons a person’s sleep is disrupted or unsatisfactory and b) how to train the mind and body to regularly achieve restful, satisfying sleep. This is not to say that everyone can solve their sleep problems by lifestyle modifications alone; Winter examines the medical conditions, such as sleep apnea, that can result in disrupted sleep and long-term poor health. He also recommends an occasional device to help regulate sleep patterns or make bedtime more consistently enjoyable. However, the big takeaway is that sleep conditions are treatable without taking a pill and that, like so many things, a psychological adjustment may be the key to success. Many people will find this fact alone a huge relief from sleep-related stress and will be on their ways to achieving better rest.
The rare book that may help sufferers of poor sleep improve their quality of rest simply by elucidating the context of good sleep and offering the right techniques to achieve it.Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-58360-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: New American Library
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
Part autobiography, part pep talk, part meal plans and recipes (these last created with Weight Watchers' help), this is Georgy Girl actress and Weight Watchers spokesperson Redgraves's account of how she conquered the ``Fat Ogre'' and (by implication) how you can too. In a style that alternates between unfleshed summary and italicized emotional immediacy, Redgrave tells of growing up in an acting family with a father (Michael Redgrave) who seemed oblivious to her presence, of career and family milestones and happiness with her actor husband and their three children, and especially of her battles with that inner Fat Ogre: the yo-yo weight gains and losses, stretches of bulimia, and finally taking control with Weight Watchers' help and maintaining a 35-pound loss wince 1982. There is also a 25-page question-and-answer interlude, said to be taken from some of her public appearances, where she expands on her new positive habits, her eating-out strategies, her liberation from alcohol and coffee, and so on. As a celeb or ``ordeal'' bio, the book is a little bland, and for other overeaters it's only an example, not a guide. Still, the dual appeal of these popular genres can't be discounted (remember Liz Takes Off), and Redgrave comes across as a likable and sympathetic figure.
Pub Date: May 30, 1991
ISBN: 0-525-24987-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991
McElroy (Animals as Teachers and Healers, not reviewed) celebrates “the lessons learned at the four-footed threshold,” where animals point to “a particularly rich and rewarding track to personal awareness and to a more genuine and soul-filled life.” Here McElroy explores five stations on the shared path of animals and human spirituality, communication, service, forgiveness, and transformation—through stories (“When I had cancer, I learned quickly that stories were far more healing to me than statistics or information”) told by herself and “other animal-oriented souls.” Pretty much from the get-go, McElroy’s soul, “the inner guardian of our lives,” had spoken to her about her affinity to animals: “Could I have chosen my passion, I would not have chosen animals . . . But I did not choose, I was chosen.” And so, on this note of surrender, she listens to animals closely, she observes their body language, she endeavors to tap their enchanting and graceful presence, to be on the lookout for signs and messages—using the ancient language of empathy and intuition—with which to create a shared world. Much of what she learns is straightforward: how animals teach humans about service (the sheep dog, the shepherd), how they live in the moment, are (almost) always ready to give a second chance to a malefactor, demonstrate dignity in death. She doesn’t claim to know “the inner life of an animal with any degree of certainty,” but she stands squarely behind the validity of fantastical human-animal experiences, including the conversation an animal communicator had with an elephant, said pachyderm speaking at length on planetary transformation, the suffering of Mother Earth, and “the bass note in the symphony of life.” Little new ground is turned—with the exception of that elephant. As a result, McElroy and her fellow testamentarians’ souls can get wearying, as can the mild epiphanies that allow them to become ever worthier and more intimate with the animals.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-42403-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
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