Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep

Sleep. Most of us love it, many of us don’t get enough of it, and none of us knows very much about it given the percentage of our lives we spend doing it. Even scientists don’t know that much about it, especially compared to their understanding of other basic biological functions. However,

Show More

sleep research is becoming more popular and in Dreamland the author David Randall shares some of the latest findings.

The best part of the book was definitely the tone. The author is hilarious! He shares many funny anecdotes and writes in an unusually accessible way. The anecdotes he shares are often unconnected except for their relation to sleep, but the author does a great job smoothly transitioning between them. Fortunately, the book isn’t all about the anecdotes; the author just uses them to make his discussion of the research more interesting. There aren’t in chapter citations, which sadly means specific facts aren’t paired with citations, but there is a detailed list of references at the end of the book.

For those of you looking for a book on sleep because you’re having trouble getting enough good sleep, this is a great book to pick up. Although our theoretical understanding of sleep is still in the works, enough data has been collected that the author can offer some practical information. For instance, bright enough lights re-set your circadian rhythm, so it’s best to keep the lights low as you’re getting ready for bed. Now that’s information we can use!

Show Less

interesting (but not in-depth) review of sleep; nice combination of the historical, anecdotal, and scientific; read like a collection of Discover magazine articles

Could've been much higher on the star scale, but NO index, and NO footnotes nor endnotes. No, a bibliography does not suffice.

This was a fascinating glimpse into sleep. Honestly beyond the fact that I do it every night I haven't given much thought to sleep but this book taught me a lot about it. I had no idea that we basically don't know much about sleep.

I thought this book was amazing! It had so much information to help understand sleep and ways to get a better nights sleep. I have recommeneded this book to so many people from 13 to 75.

In compliance with FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received this book for free through Goodreads First

Show More

Reads.

Show Less

Forget about outer space and deep-ocean trenches. There are scientific mysteries far closer to home. In our bedrooms each night, something odd happens--we try to fall asleep. No one knows exactly why. What happens if we don't sleep? Do men sleep differently than women? Why is it so hard to put

Show More

children to sleep? And if Freud was wrong about dreams, then why do we dream? In Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, David K. Randall answers these questions and more. He takes us through the history of human thinking about sleep, all the way up to the latest rest techniques used by Olympic athletes. You'll sleep better having read this book.

Show Less

A very readable account of sleep, dreams, and how science has changed the way we think about them. Sleep--we need it, but why? What actually happens to our bodies while we are sleeping? Much is still unknown, but scientists are getting closer to an answer. We are all well aware now of the dangers

Show More

of sleep apnea, and how damaging it can be to a sufferers health. Due to sleep and dream studies, Freud's concept of symbolism in dreams has pretty much been debunked, and now we know that dreams are more closely linked to the happenings in our day to day lives. A topic that has always fascinated me, and this was a fine overview.

Show Less

A fairly humdrum example of the kind of science writing that consists of regurgitating scientific journal articles into the undiscriminating maw of the lay person. Although I may have been biased against this book because of the staggeringly inappropriate audiobook narration on Audible.

Light reading. Personal angle is the author discovered he sleepwalks and learns how little sleep is understood. Interesying but not particularly enlightening.

My first preference in science writing is to find a subject matter expert who is also a talented writer (such folks are few and far between). My next preference is a journalist who has some personal stake in the subject matter — in this case, a journalist who suffers from the parasomnia known as

Show More

sleep walking. Dreamland is a general survey of what we know and don't know about sleep, interwoven with the kind of personal detail about researchers and patients (including the author) that makes a great story. The pace is quick and the book is short; I read the entire thing in a day. Randall doesn't spend a lot of time on each concept, but there's a bibliography if you're interested in more detail. Halfway into the first chapter I despaired that there weren't footnotes, but then I discovered the bibliography, and all was well :)

Show Less