Some sound advice, pseuodoscience & self promotion

What would have made Sleep Smarter better?

Sleep Smarter is a blend of sound, science based advice, pseudo-science, and frequent self promotion. Much of the sound, science based advice can be found elsewhere. Much of the pseudo-science can be found on websites that promote dubious cures and make dubious claims. The blend reminds me of what I've heard of Dr. Oz.

Two examples that stick out are how magnesium is best absorbed through a magnesium oil spray (and he recommends a specific one in his "bonus" material) and how ***RADIATION*** (you can hear the all caps and emphasis in the audio) from your cell phone will affect your sleep and cause cancer so you should keep the phone in another room. Keeping the phone in another room is a good idea, but not because of ***RADIATION***.

What was most disappointing about Shawn Stevenson and Sara Gottfried MD - foreword ’s story?

The frequency of self promotion "the number one health podcast" got old. I got the feeling that the pseudo-science was sometimes the result of product placement compensation.

42 people found this helpful

Some parts good, but be careful

There was some great content in here, but it was surrounded by far too much pseudoscience and throwing around individual studies' results as "truth." You know it's not trustworthy when you keep hearing things being thrown around as fact, such as with the word "causes," rather than "correlates with."

The author was really easy to listen to, however. The only other thing I got tired of is how often he said to check out more info in the bonus resource guide. I bet there's more in that "bonus" guide than this whole book (for better or worse)

278 people found this helpful

Some good suggestions, but very biased strategies

This book had some decent ideas, many of them not new. Things like go to bed and wake up and the same time every day. Stop being a night owl; going to bed early and rising early. Get actual daylight for 30 minutes around 10. Prime sleep time is from 10pm to 2am. Get 7-8 hours of sleep daily, Keep your room dark and free of television. Don't use your smartphone or other computing devices within a couple hours of sleep due to the blue light messing with your melatonin levels. Don't drink caffeine after 2pm. Use Magnesium spray just before bed. Exercise and eat healthy.

A lot of the author's suggestions really showed his bias and in many cases were totally unrealistic and in one case offensive. While the author acknowledges the fact that people work odd hours for their jobs he advocates that they quite and find different ones. Makes me wonder if he would promote that when he needs the police and medical people in the early am. The author plainly indicates that people who have sleep apnea suffer from it solely because they are overweight and comments that their love life will not exist because the C-Pap device they where makes them look like a villain from one of the Batman movies. I know several people who are very thin and fit and still have sleep apnea. The author also promotes a lot of devices, supplements, and therapies (like massage a couple of times a week); all of which are very expensive. He promotes the Intelligel beds which are also extremely expensive.

In short the author, who was absolutely horrible as a narrator, provides a few suggestions that are commonly known, Recommends a bunch of expensive stuff, and sites some studies (who can't find A (singular) study to support their theory these days) and states that anyone who isn't following his life style, basically a 9-5 job that pays really good money to afford all the stuff he wants you to buy, including organic foods and grass feed type meats, needs to completely quit what they're doing and change. This isn't a book I could recommend.

248 people found this helpful

A more fitting title would be “Movie Reference: THE BOOK”

This book contains some generally good advice on how to improve one’s sleep. I’d say this is more Sleeping Better 101, as everything in this book is pretty introductory and commonly found in other books and articles.

Shawn Stevenson apparently thinks that making lots of movie references is either funny or makes him more relatable, and it just doesn’t. He gives many shout outs to his own podcast. Doing it once would be ok, but he does it a lot. All in all, this book’s all right.

5 people found this helpful

Best Book on Sleep I've Ever Read

Would you listen to Sleep Smarter again? Why?

I took copious notes. I'll be reusing the information from this book for years to come. Read the book, you'all.

What did you like best about this story?

I'm a scientist, aka I'm picky about health books and depth of information. This book, I loved. It simplified the science but really contained heavyweight information about cortisol, omega 3's, lighting and hormones, temperature, and so much more.

17 people found this helpful

Mostly Hype and Sales

There is quite a bit that I am taking from this book. One thing is that I need to do more research because there is a good deal in here that is fairly bogus and unthought through. Suggesting that people dim the lights in their house is actually dangerous. Most homes have too little light to be safe. And lighting candles is not going to help. He also cites some pretty questionable practices such as earthing, which has been significantly debunked by real science. There is lots of bonus material, all aimed at selling you something. I hate the format but I have take a few things from this book that I am using an that are helping me achieve better sleep.

153 people found this helpful

What I needed to create a great morning and bed time routine

I loved the authors voice and learned a lot about sleep and why people say it's more important to workout in the morning than in the evening. I applied this book to my life and I feel amazing. I want to thank the author. I'm very grateful that I found this book.

62 people found this helpful

Enlightening

I honestly assumed I knew everything he was going to say, because I am a big advocate of sleep already, but there were still many aha moments that will for sure improve my life. Already I am sleeping better than I have in a loooooong time. So worth the read from start to finish.

40 people found this helpful

Mostly good info

Most of the information in this book seems good, and matches my understanding from a wide variety of other sources. Unfortunately the author includes references to junk pseudo-science about "grounding", and very inaccurate / misleading information about the effects and amelioration of EMF ... those sections can safely be ignored. Still, the inclusion of such poorly researched material leaves me doubting the accuracy of the other sections. Cross referencing with other trustworthy sources is highly recommended.

82 people found this helpful

This will help you sleep better

The book is structured logically with one key point in each chapter supported by research and studies and followed by tips. Some tips are simple and obvious (if you have a big engagement on a certain day, schedule your calendar so you're getting enough sleep for at least several days before the engagement). Another obvious tip but hard to implement is not to use your devices or watch TV an hour before your bedtime. The blue light from the monitors and addictive apps will make you alert and lessen your quality of sleep. Even if you're sleeping for 7-8 hours, you will not be getting the REM and deep sleep that your body needs (which is why you wake up drowsy). Another good tip is to meditate, especially if you have inner chatter running in your head at night. A surprising tip is to get more sunlight, particularly from 6 am to 8:30 am, to wake up your body and regulate your circadian rhythm. There are also tips contrary to what many people believe. Don't exercise before bedtime. It raises your body's core temperature and makes it harder to fall asleep (despite feeling physically tired). With so many tips provided, you can implement a few at a time and evaluate how it affects the quality of your sleep.

19 people found this helpful