The Promise of Sleep: A Pioneer in Sleep Medicine Explores the Vital Connection Between Health, Happiness, and a Good Night's Sleep: Dement, William C.: 9780440509011: Amazon.com: Books (original) (raw)
Customers say
Customers find the book very informative, mind-expanding, and compelling on many levels. They describe it as readable, easy to understand, and worth every minute of their time. Readers also appreciate the entertaining mix of anecdotes that spice up the science.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
18 customers mention "Information quality"16 positive2 negative
Customers find the book very informative, mind-expanding, and valuable. They say it has interesting stuff and is compelling on many levels. Readers mention the details are helpful to physicians unfamiliar with sleep research and provide practical tips and ideas. Overall, they describe the book as enlightening and useful.
"...Extremely enlightening book and on an overlooked and crucially important subject...." Read more
"...The book contains plenty of useful information on a largely neglected topic, and this information can literally change (or save) your life if you..." Read more
"It's a mind-expanding book on the the barely-explored mystery of dreaming and sleep. Highly-recommended reading." Read more
"...Chock full of information, but as another reviewer has noted, you will find it hard to read every line...." Read more
17 customers mention "Readability"14 positive3 negative
Customers find the book readable, engaging, and easy to understand. They say it should be required reading for insomniacs. Readers also mention that the author writes with knowledge and humor.
"...disorders and adjusting to time zone differences is clear and easy to understand--by far the best that I've seen to date...." Read more
"...Although the writer's style is easy and readable, it alone would not rate five stars. But the content is five star plus. Buy it!" Read more
"...It goes into great details (may be too detailed for a casual reader) with lots of reference and explanation of medical studies, cases, etc...." Read more
"This is an excellent and well written book that will enlighten you about the importance of sleep and the dangers of untreated obstructive sleep apnea..." Read more
13 customers mention "Value for money"13 positive0 negative
Customers find the book wonderful, surprising, and worth every minute of their time to read. They also say the content is well-done and entertaining.
"...Fascinating, readable, likeable, surprising, and worth every minute of your time to read...." Read more
"...Overall, this is a useful book and I can recommend it, but I'll myself next be looking for a sleep book which is more recent, shorter, and more..." Read more
"This book is a classic must read even if you don't know anyone who snores or has daytime tiredness...." Read more
4 customers mention "Storytelling"4 positive0 negative
Customers find the storytelling entertaining, fascinating, and relatable. They also say the stories are great and ground-breaking.
"...Fascinating, readable, likeable, surprising, and worth every minute of your time to read...." Read more
"...Entertaining mix of anecdotes to spice up the science...." Read more
"...that Dement did over the years was profound and the stories that he shares are great. All in all it was a great book about sleep." Read more
"...The cute anecdotes make it more relatable and entertaining." Read more
3 customers mention "Length"0 positive3 negative
Customers find the book too long. They also say the lack of an index is frustrating.
"...The only downside is that it is long, and some people may not have the motivation or discipline to finish it...." Read more
"Yes, it's too long; and the lack of an index is frustrating. But Dement presents ideas here that need to be heard, and haven't before...." Read more
"...However, the book is too long, and is written in an inefficient and chatty style that doesn't have an obvious organizational structure to it...." Read more
Reviews with images
back cover reads
A pioneer in sleep medicine explores the vital connection between health, happiness, and a good night's sleep. The goal for this book is not to tell everyone about all the exciting discoveries in sleep science and sleep medicine - many fantastic researchers and clinicians have filled volumes with that information. Rather the goal is to give people the fundamental knowledge they need to change the way they sleep and live. We are not healthy unless our sleep is healthy, and we cannot make our sleep healthy unless we become thoroughly aware of both its peril and its promise.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review
- Sort by reviews type
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2005
The author marvels about how something that is so important, sleep, could be so overlooked by the medical community and by the public. By the time you have read this book you will be amazed by how little you knew about something so important as your sleep. This is without a doubt the best book on sleep available. The only downside is that it is long, and some people may not have the motivation or discipline to finish it. The many biographical notes by the author increases the length, and the book repeats itself. Nevertheless, this is vitally important information. I was surprised about many misconceptions I had about sleep which I believe have been quite detrimental to me. For example, I had no idea of the concept of sleep debt -- that you must "pay back" the hours you are awake by sleeping at the rate of about 1 hour per 2 hours awake (the exact rate depends on the individual) -- and that for the most sleep debt carries over from night to night. For example, if you have a large sleep debt, then sleeping 8 hours a night for a week will not make it go away, you will continue to be the run-down the whole week and you need to sleep more than 8 hours a day to pay that debt back. The book shatters many terrible misconceptions -- such as the being sleepy is evidence that you slept too much, when in fact it is evidence you need to sleep more. It also explains the mistaken belief most people and doctors have that sleeping pills are addictive, cause dependence, and can even result in overdose (the ones from 30 to 40 years did, but today's don't). It explains how snoring is probably evidence of a very common and very serious disorder (sleep apnea), which, when treated can improve the quality of your life tremendously. It also provides a section, late in the book, to help you diagnose and understand your own sleep and sleep problems. Extremely enlightening book and on an overlooked and crucially important subject. Understanding and application of the information in this book truly has the power to improve, and in many cases, save your life. Don't hesitate to buy it, and follow up by reading it all.
26 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2010
I should have read Dr. William Dement's classic, The Promise Of Sleep, many years ago. Perhaps the sheer size (almost 500 pages with minimal pictures) was somewhat intimidating, but I finally ordered a used copy off of Amazon, and found myself completely engrossed. I finished it while communting back and forth on the train in one week. It was written in 1999, but most of his information still holds true. The sad thing is that despite all warnings about the dangers of untreated sleep disorders and a call to all primary care physicians to wake up to the countless numbers of sleep deprived people who are literally killing themselves, not much has changed, from what I can see. Even in medical schools today, very little time is devoted to sleep medicine.
This book is Dr. Dement's personal plea to everyone in this country to take sleep problems seriously. As the father of sleep medicine, he and a handful of sleep medicine pioneers created this new specialty within the past few decades. He switches back and forth between laugh-out-loud and hilarious accounts as a sleep researcher to heart-breaking stories of numerous people who died from easily preventable causes.
I was attracted to this book to discover what he had to say about obstructive sleep apnea, but ended up being more fascinated by his descriptions of all the other various sleep disorders. His repetitive reminders about the importance of a cumulative sleep debt along with alerting cycles is an important concept that everyone should know about. His description of circadian rhythm disorders and adjusting to time zone differences is clear and easy to understand--by far the best that I've seen to date. At the end of the book, I expected to see the standard laundry list of sleep hygiene issues that all other books talk about. I was wrong. He gave balanced, common-sense reasons for why these recommendations are usually made, but leaves plenty of room for flexibility and adjustment for individual differences.
Dr. Dement's book should be required reading for all medical students, physicians, and the lay public alike (in addition to my book, Sleep, Interrupted).
8 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2000
Yes, it's too long; and the lack of an index is frustrating. But Dement presents ideas here that need to be heard, and haven't before. Sleep is not a simple process that can be distilled into a soundbyte - and his scientist's training won't let him devolve this into a mere list of "tips to sleep better". So, it it worth wading through 450 pages? A resounding yes. My own sleep problems were helped the very night I skipped ahead to the sleep hygeine chapter (the closest things to tips in the book). My understanding of jetlag and "prime time" for creative work will help me in the future. My respect for sleep has grown and will change my decisions. My realization of how close I have been to falling asleep at the wheel is terrifyingly clear. I am sending the book to one friend who I am sure suffers from a life threatening sleep lack. And unlike the reader who found Dement's career history self serving, I hear instead a plea for more research on this vitally important subject. Fascinating, readable, likeable, surprising, and worth every minute of your time to read. Although the writer's style is easy and readable, it alone would not rate five stars. But the content is five star plus. Buy it!
116 people found this helpful
Top reviews from other countries
5.0 out of 5 stars Todo correcto
Reviewed in Spain on November 30, 2023
Amplio y extenso con mucho contenido e información específica sobre el tema, lo cual me gustó, aunque un poco desactualizada.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2019
Not far into this but it has already got me captured in the moment of reading abit every night. Big book so plenty to get through. Bought second hand but still in great condition
5.0 out of 5 stars Want to know about Sleep ?
Reviewed in India on June 5, 2015
A must read book by every Medical professional, and all who want to know about sleep. All the experiences of Sir William C Dement his experiments
and discoveries of sleep have been described very interestingly. Sir Dement has given a synopsis of his life time work and research on Sleep in a very concise book.
I recommend this book to ENT, Neurophysicians, General Medicine, Emergency medicine, Cardiologist and every medical fraternity must read book.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 18, 2012
Excellent book, great seller and amazing service. If you suffer from a sleep disorder this is a must. Its out of print but you can find it second hand on amazon at a great price.
5.0 out of 5 stars good book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2013
just read part of the book and realized its value in guiding life and thoughts, though too long to be finished in shrot time.