Sleep to Save Your Life: The Complete Guide to Living Longer and Healthier Through Restorative Sleep - Hardcover

Lombardo M.D., Gerard T.; Ehrlich, Henry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060742534 ISBN 13: 9780060742539

Publisher: William Morrow, 2005

Synopsis

A guide to life–saving sleep––addressing the modern epidemic many of us unknowingly suffer from, and showing how to confront this new big health risk in order to live longer, healthier lives.

Humans spend 1/3 of their lives sleeping. With eating and exercise, sleep completes the crucial triad for health. Yet today a sleep crisis is undermining our productivity, relationships, and short–term and long–term health. Current research identifies poor sleep (specifically sleep apnea) as a significant cofactor in a growing number of diseases (e.g., asthma, hypertension, heart disease, depression, diabetes). Poor sleep makes any illness worse. It runs in families. It is affected by habits, allergies, anatomy, diet/exercise, and smoking. It is the modern malady of our stress–laden, 24/7 lives.

Sleep to Save Your Life reveals these new understandings and what to do about them, based on Dr. Lombardo's experience advising transit unions, Wall Streeters, athletes, and police in the "city that never sleeps." Easy–to–follow physiology is combined with self–assessments, dietary and behavioral programs, and advice on getting the best treatment. We learn why you shouldn't hit the snooze button. . .how getting extra sleep doesn't counteract sleep deprivation. . .which activities worsen sleep problems. . .when and what to eat for better sleep. . .whether chamomile tea, warm milk, and other remedies really work. . .and more. This is a total guide covering at–home help alongside discussion of cutting–edge medical treatment.

About this title

About the Author

Gerard T. Lombardo, M.D., is the founder and director of the Sleep Center at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, and assistant professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell Medical Center. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

In this thorough rundown of various sleep disorders and their cures and causes, Lombardo relies on anecdotes, research and his clinical experiences to describe the misconceptions about and effects of poor sleep habits and sleep disorders, though the sterile writing may be enough to cure some readers' mild insomnia. Lombardo, an associate professor of clinical medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell Medical Center, describes at length various sleep disorders, which now number over 70, and concludes many people plagued by poor sleep don't realize they may be suffering from breathing disorders, including snoring and sleep apnea-a suffocating breathing disorder linked to high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. He also details narcolepsy and movement disorders, such as Restless Legs Syndrome. Noting that "there is a new focus in sleep medicine to help both mind and body return to a natural rhythm of active by day and quiet by night," Lombardo claims a combination of new, non-addictive medication and therapy will rehabilitate insomniacs. The final chapters detail problems of specific demographics: children are increasingly sleep-deprived, women generally have "huge" sleep deficits, as do the elderly, though the causes are different. As the doctor says, "Like the tides, our bodies still operate on a schedule that doesn't easily change just because we want it to." Those missing some of their 40 winks will want to keep this on the nightstand.
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Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060742534
• ISBN 13: 9780060742539
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320