Travelers’ Guides for Voyaging to the Land of Nod

Sleep. Ahhhh. The mere thought of a night’s sleep that is not interrupted in the wee hours or ended prematurely by an obnoxious sound from the clock radio is, to me, a fantasy rarely fulfilled. Like many people, I don’t relish sleeping as much as I cherish that feeling of waking up completely rested--knowing I have a reserve of energy that will last the entire day instead of fizzling out in the late afternoon.

The importance of sleep and advice on how to get the most from it is the subject of two new books. Neither book is designed for people with serious, diagnosable sleep problems, such as chronic insomnia or apnea. Instead, both focus on common sleep problems that affect most people from time to time.

In “Learn to Sleep Well,” by a sleep disorders specialist, we learn interesting trivia about sleep along with some reassuring theories about our ability to reclaim the rest we need. Presented on thick paper and beautifully illustrated, the book describes sleep cycles and points out that our bodies are naturally designed to compensate for a poor night’s sleep by altering cycles the following night to supply more deep sleep.

Author Chris Idzikowski also explains the natural sleep rhythms that affect us around the clock, such as the 90-minute cycles that tend to govern our level of alertness both day and night. Just as sleep cycles at night last about 90 minutes, we tend to suffer small energy dips every 90 minutes during the day, research shows. Our breathing changes, concentration wanders and energy fades. The brain bounces back from these short sags, but Idzikowski suggests that people who monitor their cycles during the day will fall asleep better if they go to bed when a dip is occurring.

He also explains why we experience certain universal sleep phenomena, such as the occasional feeling of falling when we first drift off, why we don’t always remember dreams and why it’s more difficult to wake up during key points of the sleep cycle.

Idzikowski also explores the role of napping, suggesting that it is a necessary “Band-Aid” for some sleep-deprived people. And he explains why we often wake from naps and feel worse than before for about 20 minutes. Napping, he points out, will backfire among people who are not sleep-deprived.

“Learn to Sleep Well” offers many tips to optimize sleep, including an exploration of practices from traditional Eastern medicine, such as yoga, feng shui and herbs. Minor sleep problems, such as snoring and adjusting to changing work shifts, are also addressed.

“A Woman’s Guide to Sleep” discusses practical solutions to improve sleep. However, this book focuses on the many conditions and circumstances that rob women of sleep throughout the life cycle--from hormonal changes, to pregnancy, to caring for infants and toddlers, to the night sweats that announce menopause. According to the authors, the average woman between 30 and 60 sleeps only six hours and 41 minutes a night during the workweek, despite research that shows almost everyone needs at least eight hours of sleep to function at their best. (New mothers can expect to lose 700 hours of sleep during their baby’s first year of life.)

Written by Dr. Joyce Walsleben, director of the New York University School of Medicine Sleep Disorders Center, the book addresses the many life situations that undermine sleep and describes solutions to those problems, many of which are simple. Walsleben also discusses more serious sleep disorders and provides a long list of certified treatment centers.

While women will find much of the advice in this book familiar, “Learn to Sleep Well” offers a more comprehensive view of sleep.