In My Mailbox (1)

Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler

     So a few weeks ago a won a giveaway from Book ♥ Soulmates: a signed copy of Playing Hurt. I only recently received it in the mail, due to the unfortunate and annoying postal strike, but it's finally here! Like I previously mentioned, I am so excited to read this book ... except I almost don't want to touch it because it's so beautiful. Okay, whatever, I'm a freak, get over it.

     I also received a hand written note from Holly Schindler herself! On personal paper which was such a cute touch! Thank you thank you thank you! Expect a review soon!

Sleep for Success! - Dr. James B. Maas

August 26, 2010

   Given the present, stress-inducing state of the economy and the world, there has never been a better time to provide a wake-up call on how to relax, get centered, get eight hours of sleep, and be happier and more successful. Recent research has shown us that when we get enough sleep, we are able to accomplish more in less time and with less stress and greater health. What if you could take a few small steps every day that would enable you to eventually achieve all these things? You can. In fact, it''s easy. Sleep for Success!, a convincing, psychological approach to changing attitudes and behaviors, is written for anyone who wants to get a great night''s sleep, feel wide awake, and be a peak performer all day. If you''re human, chances are that you are at least somewhat sleep deprived. Sleep for Success! can change your life-literally overnight.(Chapters, CA)

     My dad works in a large prestigious company, and he once had a sleep doctor give a presentation in his office. He came home that night and told us all about what the guy had said, and started listing all the tips and suggestions he had given for better sleep, and how that relates to pretty much every other facet of life from athletic performance to longevity. This sleep doctor was Dr. James B. Maas, who also gives this presentation to Olympic athletes, important business executives, and even on reputable television shows. Sleep for Success! is his second book, and I read the entire thing in a day.

     I have had some sleep problems for the past few years. Usually I’m exhausted if I get less than 12-14 hours of sleep per night, yet I have trouble falling asleep before 2am. Lately I have also been waking up several times every night, and I always want to take naps. After reading this book and seeing the tips, I’m for sure going to work at it, and hopefully my grades will improve, I will lose weight, and eventually need less sleep (all of which is promised to those who follow the rules outlined in the book).

     Since this is the type of book in which you would want me to write spoilers, I’ll just warn you now: the whole post will be spoilers. I won’t go into too much detail, list all the tips, or even discuss all the chapters. I’m only going to be writing stuff that I found relevant and interesting; there’s still a lot in the book to make it worthwhile to pick up yourself.

     If you need an alarm to wake up, it takes you significantly less or more than 20 minutes to fall asleep, or if you are sleepy during the day, then you are sleep deprived. And these days, nearly everyone is.

     First I want to share some interesting facts and statistics mentioned in the book related to sleep deprivation.
          - The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 80 000 sleep-related accidents per day, resulting in 1500 fatalities and 71 000 injuries per year.
          - Your mattress doubles in weight every ten years due to dust mites (ew!)
          - Sleep beginning before midnight is no better than sleep beginning after midnight; it is instead the amount and quality of sleep which matters.
          - You cannot condition yourself to need less sleep.
          - The human body can never adjust to night-shift work.
          - University and high school students' level of alertness equals that of an untreated narcoleptic (someone who is chronically tired and feels the need to sleep all the time no matter how much actual rest they are getting)
          - Driving drowsy is the same as driving drunk; one drink on six hours of sleep is equal to six drinks on eight hours (the recommended average).
          - After 17-19 hours of wakefulness your brain has the same level of activity as someone with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of 0.05. Twenty eight hours of wakefulness results in activity levels equal to a BAC of 0.1.

     Sleep is incredibly important for humans to function properly. More specifically, it is REM sleep that is critical. (I’m not going to explain all about the sleep cycles and brain waves, though it is explained well in the book, so go here to read up on it, probably before continuing to read the review). Briefly: REM sleep occurs every 90 minutes during your sleep cycle, doubling in length each time. This is why hours 6-8 are the most important of the night; they consist almost entirely of REM sleep. If you have to sleep for less than 6 hours, you won’t be getting anything out of the sleep, except I suppose less racking up of your sleep-debt.

     One of the most important aspects of sleep is the fact that your brain is super active. REM sleep is the only time when memory enhancement occurs, and also commits events to long term memory, such as muscle memory from a soccer practice, understanding an impossible physics problem, and even remembering conversations you had during the day with friends and family. Sleep is also known to affect the following things: cancer, heart disease, memory consolidation, concentration, motor skills and coordination, ability to communicate, mood and anxiety, skin, diabetes, weight gain, and illnesses.

     The book talks a lot about sleep time and quality for all the different age groups, but I’m not going to go into that. You’ll just have to read the book yourself. Maas also talks in depth about various sleep disorders, cures and treatments, as well as various helpful and not-so-helpful inventions related to sleep. Something described in his chapter on teens that I do want to mention is that the circadian rythym of teenagers usually allows for sleep during 3 and 11 am. Maas has influenced some schools to postpone the start of the school day, and even just an hour made a huge difference on attitude, grades, athletic performance and health.

     Some of the hints and tips given by Dr. Maas to help get better sleep are as follows.
          - No caffeine after 2pm
          - Cutting back on alcohol (which is not a ‘sleep aid’) and nicotine will help with quality of sleep.
          - You shoud be going to sleep and waking up at the same time everty day, regardless of workdays, weekends or holidays.
          - Determine your personal sleep quotient (explained very well in the book) and meet it every night
          - Get your required amount of sleep in one continuous block, rather than several chunks of sleep.
          - Make up for lost sleep as soon as possible (while still adhering to the guidelines)
          - Avoid boredom
          - As a rule, for every 2 hours of being awake, your body requires 1 hour of sleep. Ergo, every 24 hour period should be spent with 16 hours awake, and 8 hours asleep.
if you don’t get enough sleep, you begin to accumulate sleep-debt. This cannot be “paid off” by sleeping in on the weekends, or having naps all the time.
          - If you absolutely need a nap, it should be between 2:00pm and 4:00pm, and should last either 20 minutes or 90 minutes.
          - The best time to exercise is between 5:00pm and 7:00pm. The worst time is early in the morning. Also a bad time: within 3 hours of bedtime. Sex is the exception: it promotes good quality sleep.
          - Light has the most significant impact on our circadian rythyms by far, so try to avoid bright light – natural or artificial – in the few hours before you plan on going to sleep (especially the blue light of TV and computer screens).
          - One's bedroom environment is very important for quality of sleep. Light, noise and temperature drastically affect sleep. There should be dim lighting in your room, and no electronics. Noise should be kept to below 60dB (also, should be constant white noise, not the TV or radio, and should be turned off after the onset of sleep to avoid waking you up later in lighter stages of sleep). The temperature of your bedroom should be 65 degrees F (use blankets if you really need to, but don’t raise the temperature). Otherwise, your bedroom should not be used for anything other than sleeping (no eating or studying!) and should be relatively empty of decorations (no cluttered dresser or stacks of magazines). Having a bedtime ritual starting 1 hour before you wish to sleep consisting of warm bath/shower, reading for pleasure, mediatiation, no electronics (among other things) is very helpful.
          - Good nighttime snacks: crackers, vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, peanut butter, cereal, oatmeal.
          - Bad nighttime snacks: alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, spicy food, dairy (exception of warm milk), processed foods, garlic, meats.

     I really enjoyed the book; I felt as though it explained simply and interestingly many things which I had been wondering about. There are sleepiness quizzes, extended reading material suggestions, and many helpful tips and explanations geared toward helping you get a better night's sleep. I will definitely be testing this out, and I'll keep you posted on the results!