The Secret Life of Sleep

The Secret Life of Sleep by Kat Duff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Secret Life of Sleep is about sleep.

I got this from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!

While I don't suffer from sleep problems myself, I know a lot of people who do so I'm curious about the subject. When this popped up on Netgalley, I snapped it up.

The Science of Sleep covers are pretty wide range of topics.
- Sleep aids
- Sleep deprivation
- The way people's sleep habits have changed over human history
- Sleep disorders
- Different cultural beliefs about sleep

It has a lot of informative tidbits in it, which I felt compelled to read out loud to my lady friend, who works three twelve-hour night shifts a week as a nurse. Sometimes, she'd nod in agreement. Other times, she'd ask what the hell I was reading and if the laundry was still in the dryer.

Some of the topics gave names to things we've all experienced, like sleep anxiety, that feeling of looking at the clock and fretting over how much time you have left to sleep if you fall asleep that moment. Others were interesting insights to things I already knew about, like sleep walking, sleep paralysis, or sleep deprivation. I also found it disturbing just how many different kinds of sleeping pills there were.

There weren't too many nits to pick about this one. I thought the book meandered a bit at times but sleep is a pretty broad topic so that's to be expected. Some of the religious discussions felt extraneous. Other than that, it was a pretty solid read and not a yawner. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

View all my reviews