November 2001
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DEEP SLEEP: Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg |
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One in three Americans reports having frequent
insomnia, and one in six professes to sleep poorly most nights or
every night. Surveys show few ask their doctors for help. Most poor
sleepers say they feel nothing can be done to improve their sleep. As John Harvey shows in this book, however, there
are plenty of options for people seeking ways to achieve better sleep
on their own. He advocates changes in attitudes and behavior, not
medications, and details numerous helpful tactics. A specialist in
stress-related illnesses, Harvey directs the psychology program at
Allied Services Rehabilitation Hospital in Scranton, Pa. Perhaps your mind continues to race at bedtime.
You mull over things that happened (or failed to happen), what you
said, what you might have said. You fret about tasks you must undertake
tomorrow, worrying if you'll meet the deadline or complete the job
satisfactorily. You may worry about money, family problems, health,
or other concerns. With your thoughts jumping from one subject to
another, it's hard to focus on any single topic. Or perhaps you feel stuck, unable to stop thinking
about some distressing issue. Your thoughts run around in circles,
as you repeatedly replay an event or conversation in your mind. You
may feel exhausted, but you can't let go. And even after you fall
asleep, you may awaken in the night or too early in the morning to
find the same worries assailing you. Maybe you agonize over sleep itself. You worry
that if you don't fall asleep right away and get a magic amount of
sleep, you'll feel awful tomorrow. Harvey seeks to replace these concerns with what
he calls "sleep-promoting thoughts." Bodily processes foster
sleep, he points out. At night, body temperature falls, melatonin
rises, and the hours you've been awake create a sleep debt your body
seeks to repay. You can prepare yourself for sleep by avoiding caffeine
late in the day, exercising regularly, and practicing other good health
habits. Once in bed, you can use a variety of physical and mental
relaxation exercises to enhance sleep. Even if you have a bad night,
research shows you're likely to handle most of your usual tasks the
next day as well as you usually do. The book includes diaries and quizzes to help you assess your sleep and design a program to fit your needs. Harvey's soothing voice on an 80-minute CD that comes with the book gives step-by-step instructions on how to create a deep state of overall muscular relaxation, relax specific muscles, breathe from the diaphragm, and meditate. The CD alone justifies the cost of this practical, easy-to-read guide. |
Copyright (c) 2001
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