This is a poorly written book with a serious lack of rigor. A waste of time and money.
I'm giving this to the library book sale because I would not inflict it on anyone I know. ( )

What a relief it is to read a book about Insomnia by a sufferer. I have been made to feel like I must be doing something wrong, drinking too much coffee (one cup in the morning) or not really trying to get to get to sleep. That last one by the way makes it worse. The Savvy Insomniac: A Personal Journey through Science to Better Sleep by Lois Mahberg is a big step forward. I want to thank her for writing this book.

She tells her own story of sleepless ness and the things that she has tried. Some methods or pills helped some and others that didn’t help. She interviewed many otherinsomniacs to get their story. There has been a lot of research about sleep problems and she documents them in her book. Yet, even with all those studies, science is just now uncovering why we troubled sleepers are having this problem.
I enjoyed the chapter “Lit Up Like A Christmas Tree” the most. So many times I have been in bed with mind still going, going, and going. I should have had a clue when my first husband was never woken up in the middle of the night by our infant son. Now besides my brain whirling through so many thoughts I have tinnitus to keep me awake. That chapter really gets the point across that you are not alone.

The recounting of the history of soporifics is also a favorite. It is frightening what people have done in the past to get a good night’s sleep. Some were very dangerous and others just didn’t work. And what are the hopes for the future? I also learned about the role of Cognitive Behavioral Training for improvement of sleep and how it can make your sleeping better but it is very difficult to follow through with it.

I think anyone who has this problem needs to read this book. It makes you realize that you are not alone, gives you useful suggestions and reason why your body is not cooperating, tells you why some doctors get in your face and others prescribe sleeping pills. It really has to do with the history of sleeping pills.

I received this book as a win from First Reads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or ideas in this review ( )