About the Book
How many hours of sleep did you get last night?
Five? Six? None? You're not alone. Most women get far less sleep than they need -- in any given month more than half report symptoms of insomnia. Women's sleep problems are different from men's because they have a different biology, psychology, and sleep patterns. A Woman's Guide to Sleep is the first book to address your unique needs, and offer proven solutions that work.
Your sleep is affected by many factors. Fluctuating hormones -- whether it's PMS, pregnancy, or menopause -- can wreak havoc on your sleep. If you've just given birth, you stand to lose 700 hours of sleep your baby's first year! The "architecture" of your sleep changes as you age, and you might find yourself suddenly waking hours off schedule. Health problems that affect women disproportionately, such as depression and pain syndromes, also erode healthy sleep. What you eat -- or don't eat, if you're dieting -- can sabotage your nights, as can that nightcap you have. And social pressures -- juggling work, home, and parenting -- can fill your nights with anxiety instead of restful sleep.
These unique problems require unique solutions. Dr. Joyce A. Walsleben, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the NYU School of Medicine, and Rita Baron-Faust, a leading writer for women's health issues, explain how sleep problems arise and how to combat them with the right sleep-promoting foods, supplements, exercise, stress reducers, and biorhythm adjustments, as well as with prescription, over-the-counter, and alternative treatments. You'll learn to avoid the sleep robbers hidden in many common foods, medications, and supplements. Drawn from Dr. Walsleben's more than twenty years as a sleep researcher and clinician, many of these solutions are simple, surprising, and low-tech -- and they really work.
This book also tells you how to get a good night's sleep when your partner is the one tossing and turning. And how to help your kids if they have sleep
problems -- because getting up in the middle of the night to help a wakeful child destroys your sleep, too.
A comprehensive resource section will guide you to support groups, websites, and sleep clinics. With this groundbreaking guide tailored to your unique needs, you won't ever have to drag yourself through another exhausted day again.
About the Author :
JOYCE A. WALSLEBEN, Ph.D., is the director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the NYU School of Medicine. A council member of the National Sleep Foundation, she is the recent spokesperson for its survey on women and sleep. She has been interviewed on women's sleep issues on the Today show, Good Morning America, Lifetime, and elsewhere. She lives in New York City.
RITA BARON-FAUST is an award-winning author who specializes in women's health issues. Her previous books include "Being Female: What Every Woman Should Know About Gynecological Health," "Mental Wellness for Women, and Breast Cancer: What Every Woman Should Know." She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Review :
"This is the first sleep guide I've seen that's geared to women and addresses our unique needs and concerns. It's got solid information on why we have sleep problems and smart solutions. I recommend you use it to help you have a good night and sleep tight!"
-- Judith Reichman, M.D., author of "I'm Too Young to Get Old: Health Care for Women After Forty"
"At last! Here is a sourcebook by women, for women, about the problems we have with sleep because of our biology and social roles as caretakers. Dr. Walsleben has brought together a wealth of information and advice on how to make the most of our precious time off, the gift of sleep. If you no longer sleep like a baby, this book will help you understand why and the many ways you can improve it."
-- Rosalind Cartwright, Ph.D., director, Sleep Disorder Service and Research Center, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
"Walsleben and Baron-Faust have written a book that every grandmother, mother, daughter, in other words, every woman should read. Whether we are experiencing sleep problems ourselves or whether we have female friends or family members with sleep problems, this book addresses the issues. It is written in a readable, understandable, even engrossing fashion. With so many millions of women with sleep problems, this book will help any who take the time to read it achieve a good night's rest."
-- Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, University of California School of Medicine, and author of "All I Want Is a Good Night's Sleep"
"I enjoyed the book tremendously. Dr. Walsleben's direct, no-nonsense approach is refreshing. The material is comprehensive -- from childbirth to menopause, children to partners to parents, medical prescriptions to medicinal herbs to common sense. Her message is make sleep a priority; and she presents ways to achieve this goal and gives women her permission to do so! She takes us from you-go girl to get-sleep girl! I will not only recomme
