SLEEP BETTER...WITHOUT DRUGS

SLEEP BETTER...WITHOUT DRUGS
David Morawetz
Self-published, 1994
May be ordered from: http://www.sleepbetter.com.au.
80 page booklet, 3 audio tapes, $59.95
ISBN: 0 17003 1 646

Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg

"If you don't think this tactic will work for you," David Morawetz often tells readers in his book and tapes, "don't do it." Such seemingly counter-productive advice proves quite effective. Poor sleepers survey their options and instead of going along with the whole program, try only those strategies they believe will help. Their expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This success-from-the-outset approach may explain why eight out of ten insomniacs who use this program, according to the author, report improved sleep four to six weeks later, even after sleeping poorly for many years.

The strategies offered by Morawetz, an Australian psychologist, will be familiar to sleep specialists and readers of other insomnia self-help guides. There are no magic solutions here. But the author presents these tips in a fresh way. He has a deft feel for human foibles, and imbues readers with confidence that they can succeed.

Many troubled sleepers report their minds won't turn off at bedtime, for example, or they awaken in the night, fretting, and can't get back to sleep. "Most of the thinking and worrying that we do in bed needs to be done," Morawetz notes. "It just does not need to be done in bed."

Do your thinking and worrying at least a couple of hours before bedtime, he suggests. Include thinking and worrying about not sleeping, if that's a key concern. If troubling thoughts pop up again when you are in bed, tell yourself, like Scarlett O'Hara, "I'll think about this tomorrow." This tactic may not work every time, Morawetz notes, but even if it works only half the time, you are better off than you would be if you didn't try it at all.

Morawetz introduces readers to a one minute relaxation technique. Concentrate on keeping fingers loose, shoulders drooping, and jaw loose, with teeth slightly apart. You can do this anywhere, he maintains, and with daily practice, can use it to relax at night in bed.

He provides a more comprehensive set of relaxation exercises on one of the three tapes that accompany the manual. The other two follow a talk show format, giving an overview of the program, and a survey of tips offered in the book. The book, regrettably, is printed in a type size only slightly larger than that in a typical telephone directory. Middle-aged and older persons--those most apt to have insomnia--may find it hard to read.

The author asserts in the book and on the tapes that his program is "wholly Australian." Readers from elsewhere need not be deterred, as sleep problems do not respect geographic boundaries. Indeed, the distinctly Australian voices on the tapes affirm that sleep problems are universal. Names of some sleeping medications may be unfamiliar, but the same principles apply to their use in other countries.

Sleep Better Without Drugs is sold only via the author's Website. Its high cost, about $60, may put off some potential users, although a free seven-day trial may ease the decision. The typical sleep self-help book sells for under $30. The Insomnia Kit covers much the same ground, and includes a longer book with one audiotape for $19.95. Say Good Night to Insomnia and No More Sleepless Nights are among other highly recommended guides. Life-long insomniacs need not suffer any longer.