June/1998
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67 WAYS TO GOOD SLEEP: A PEOPLE'S MEDICAL SOCIETY
BOOK Charles B. Inlander and Cynthia K. Moran (Walker & Co., 1995, 88 pages, paperback, $7.95)
Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg
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This book demonstrates that more is not necessarily better.
Kavey's 50 Ways to Sleep Better is far superior.
After a brief introduction to sleep, the authors divide their
book in 2 sections: tips on how to get better sleep, and when you
need outside help. Unlike Kavey's concise and programmatic tips,
the ones in this book require readers to study each section in full.
Some examples: "Quiz yourself," "Try sex," "Suboptimize" (advice on
curbing perfectionist tendencies).
Sources include some noted sleep experts and government
publications, but also other lay books. Primary sources, therefore,
are not always acknowledged.
Inlander, president of the People's Medical Society,
a nonprofit consumer health advocacy organization, and Moran,
a health writer, include unsubstantiated advice on the efficacy
of herbal teas and other dietary supplements. Fortunately, they
also do good bit of waffling: "B-complex vitamins are helpful for
good sleep.... They energize some and sedate others."
There are 3 appendices: one summarizes major adult sleep
disorders, another describes laboratory sleep studies, and the third
lists "benzodiazepines used for sleep-disorder treatment." This last
section contains no information on non-benzodiazepine sleep
medications, now more widely used for insomnia. The index does
not include the names of persons cited in the text.
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