The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time

by Arianna Huffington

Overview

Co-founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post Arianna Huffington shows how our cultural dismissal of sleep as time wasted compromises our health and our decision-making and undermines our work lives, our personal lives—and even our sex lives in this New York Times bestseller.

We are in the midst of a sleep deprivation crisis, with profound consequences to our health, our job performance, our relationships and our happiness. What we need is nothing short of a sleep revolution: only by renewing our relationship with sleep can we take back control of our lives.

In The Sleep Revolution, Arianna explores all the latest science on what exactly is going on while we sleep and dream. She takes on the sleeping pill industry, and all the ways our addiction to technology disrupts our sleep. She also offers a range of recommendations and tips from leading scientists on how we can get better and more restorative sleep, and harness its incredible power.

The result is a sweeping, scientifically rigorous, and deeply personal exploration of sleep from all angles, from the history of sleep, to the role of dreams in our lives, to the consequences of sleep deprivation, and the new golden age of sleep science that reveals the vital role sleep plays in our every waking moment and every aspect of our health—from weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease to cancer and Alzheimer’s.  

In today's fast-paced, always-connected, perpetually-harried and sleep-deprived world, our need for a good night’s sleep is more important—and elusive—than ever. The Sleep Revolution both sounds the alarm on our worldwide sleep crisis and provides a detailed road map to the great sleep awakening that can help transform our lives, our communities, and our world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101904008
Publisher:	Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale
Publication date:	04/05/2016
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	684,630
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Arianna Huffington, a member of Oprah's SuperSoul 100, is the founder of the health and wellness startup Thrive Global. She is the co-founder and former president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, and author of fifteen books.

In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that quickly became one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. In 2012, the site won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.

She has been named to Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people and the Forbes Most Powerful Women list. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.

She serves on numerous boards, including The Center for Public Integrity, The Committee to Protect Journalists and Uber.

Her 15th book, The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night At A Time, on the science, history and mystery of sleep, was published in April 2016 and became an instant New York Times Bestseller.

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Excerpted from "The Sleep Revolution"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Arianna Huffington.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Introduction 1

Part 1 Wake-Up Call

1 Our Current Sleep Crisis 17

2 The Sleep Industry 46

3 Sleep Throughout History 68

4 The Science of Sleep 93

5 Sleep Disorders 119

6 Dreams 126

Part 2 The Way Forward

7 Mastering Sleep 165

8 Sleeping Together 189

9 What to Do, What Not to Do 197

10 Catnaps, Jet Lag, and Time Zones 225

11 Sleep and the Workplace 236

12 From Hollywood and Washington to Hospitals and Hotels: Discovering the Power of Sleep 248

13 The Sports World's Ultimate Performance Enhancer 259

14 Putting Technology in Its Place (Not on Your Nightstand) 275

Epilogue 282

Appendix A Sleep-Quality Questionnaire 287

Appendix B Guided Meditations to Help You Fall (and Stay) Asleep 290

Appendix C The Hotel Sleep Revolution: Pillow Menus, Quiet Zones, and Beds You'll Want to Take Home 296

Appendix D Going to the Mattresses 305

Acknowledgments 309

Notes 315

Index 377

Editorial Reviews

03/07/2016
Prompted by a frightening personal experience with exhaustion, Huffington Post founder Huffington (Thrive) synthesizes a vast array of sleep research and provides tips on maximizing sleep time in an increasingly deprived global culture. Noting that this deprivation is often “glamorized and celebrated” among go-getters, Huffington cites figures indicating that sleep-deprived people are less productive at work. She also lists health risks, including heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and obesity, as well as cognitive impairment on par with alcohol consumption. Huffington goes on to explore the history of sleep, from the ancient world to the Industrial Revolution, when sleep began to suffer. For science, she discusses circadian rhythms, sleep stages, and sleep disorders and their treatments. Tips on achieving better sleep habits are presented for different age groups, with parents encouraged to rethink how they approach putting their children to bed, and students to place more emphasis on sleep for a higher GPA. Much advice is familiar—put aside the electronic devices, exercise more, and meditate—but some is less so, including suggestions on how to use the latest sleep-tracking devices and sleep-optimizing hotels. Huffington proves herself a powerful advocate for those suffering from what she identifies as the current “sleep crisis.” Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, WME. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2016-02-28
A book about sleep deprivation from an author well-versed on the subject. Co-founder and president of the influential, eponymous news blog, Huffington (Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, 2014, etc.) ranks 52nd on Forbes' list of the most powerful women in the world. She describes her own experience in 2007, when she suffered a burnout and collapsed at her desk. Regaining consciousness, she awoke with an injured cheekbone and her head in a pool of blood. At that time, she slept, at most, four hours each night. Huffington's situation as a celebrity and mother of two daughters was not dissimilar to that of other successful people today. She estimates that nearly half of American adults are sleep-deprived, and the situation is worse for college students. Our values have become so skewed that all-nighters have become a mark of success. For those looking to get ahead in their careers and others who need to hold two jobs to make ends meet, going without sleep has become the norm. As the author documents, this abuse of our bodies is devastating not only to our health and longevity; job performance and relationships also suffer. Indeed, it is not unusual for drivers to nod off at the wheel. Huffington also looks at the flip side of habitual insomnia. She relates instances where reliance on sleep medications, such as Ambien, has induced potentially dangerous behavior—e.g. sleepwalking, and even driving, in a dazed state. Her takeaway message is that we should prioritize sleeping seven to eight hours every day. With little new insight to add on this well-worked theme, however, the author relies on inspirational nostrums and a host of tired clichés—e.g., "We are not defined by our jobs and our titles…sleep gives us a chance to refocus on the essence of who we are." Readers looking for effective advice for sleep should turn to a professional. A disappointing addition to the celebrity self-help shelf.

Kirkus Reviews

Arianna shows that sleep is not just vital for our health, but also critical to helping us achieve our goals. Sometimes we need to sleep in to lean in!”
— Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and author of Lean In
 
"Arianna Huffington is one of our leading authorities on the life well-lived. In this passionate, deeply researched book, she reveals everything you need to know about the magic elixir of sleep: from how to get enough, to why it matters. I dare you to read this book and carry on depriving your body (and soul) of the nightly nourishment it so desperately needs."
— Susan Cain, co-founder of Quiet Revolution and author of Quiet
 
 “In this very thorough and highly readable book, Arianna Huffington explains the history, nature, and science of the sleep problem: why so many people today do not sleep well.  And she gives us solutions in the form of evidence-based advice about what to do and what not to do to enjoy the restorative sleep we need. I recommend The Sleep Revolution highly.”
— Andrew Weil, MD, author of Fast Food, Good Food
 
“Arianna Huffington has written a book of profound importance. From time to time we'll all find sleep comes hard. For many, it is a constant struggle. Taking Arianna's wise advice to rebuild your relationship with sleep— to befriend rather than struggle with it— will transform your life, putting you back in touch with your more compassionate and intelligent self.”
— Mark Williams, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford and Co-author of The Mindful Way Workbook
 
“The message of Arianna Huffington’s compelling book won me over: You can be your own Prince Charming. You can empower yourself with knowledge— knowledge in this book— to wake yourself up. And then, use that  knowledge to put yourself, every night, into a sleep that is healthy and restorative!”
— Sherry Turkle, Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology, MIT and author of Reclaiming Conversation
 
"Is inadequate sleep the new smoking?  Ms. Huffington tackles the issue of our deteriorating sleep hygiene and its serious health and performance consequences in a comprehensive, engaging, and accessible book.  A must read for everyone burning the candle on both ends.”
— Gene Block, Chancellor of UCLA, and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
 
“Science and experience proves it: the foundation of a happy, healthy, energetic, and productive life is a good night’s rest—yet for many of us, it’s hard to turn out the light and turn off our brains. The Sleep Revolution is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to build the crucial habit of sleep.”
— Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
 
“Propelled by cutting-edge science and brimming with wisdom and wit, The Sleep Revolution is the single best book about sleep in years. An extraordinary achievement.”
— A. Roger Ekirch, author of At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past

“In her new book, The Sleep Revolution, Arianna Huffington draws on a remarkable breadth and depth of science, literature, spirituality, and story to remind us that sleep is not just a restorative, but a threshold to the resources of life that wait below our noise. By looking honestly into her own journey, Arianna uncovers important markers in the human journey through detailed research, knit together in a way that broadens our foundation. The chapters ‘Sleep Throughout History’ and ‘Dreams’ are, by themselves, an invaluable contribution to our modern consciousness. The Sleep Revolution unravels the tense threads we tangle ourselves in, giving us a chance to re-engage the forces that sustain us. This book won’t just help you sleep better; it will enliven you while you’re awake.”
— Mark Nepo, author of Inside the Miracle, The One Life We’re Given, and The Book of Awakening
 
“Count on Arianna Huffington to write a book on sleep that kept me up at night. The Sleep Revolution is invaluable, interesting, and ultimately necessary for us all. It explains why we are so tired and how that has to change. Here is the science, history, and culture of the role that sleep plays in our lives —and the role that it should really play.” 
— Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, Surgeon, Researcher, and Author of Being Mortal

“A lucid, compelling, and rational narrative on the importance of sleep to our mental, emotional and physical health.  In The Sleep Revolution, Arianna Huffington exposes the dangers of our modern-day attitude towards sleep and advocates for a renewed emphasis on the importance of sleep to our well-being.  It is nothing short of a call to arms for policy makers, CEOs, parents, educators, hospital administrators, and coaches to confront the fact that insufficient sleep is a modern-day health crisis.”
— Patrick Fuller, Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Deaconess Medical Center

"This is one of those books that, if you don’t read, when you’re dead you’re really going to wish you had.  I never thought I would have needed a self-help book for sleep, but I did! Sleep is everything – that’s my takeaway, and so you better know how to do it."
— Bill Maher

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