Sleep Smarter MP3 CD – Unabridged, October 25, 2016

The biggest endorsement I can give Sleep Smarter is that I've been trying to convince my wife to go to sleep earlier for years. Finally, after I got this book, I not so subtly started sharing factoids from the book about the benefits of sleeping earlier and better sleep hygiene things that you learn in the book (like leaving your cell phone outside the bedroom), but she wasn't listening. Finally I said, hey baby, let's make a deal, read this book and I'll read whatever you want me to read. She agreed. A week later, she's heading for bed by 10 p.m. and following other tips found in the book! #winning!What's great about Stevenson's book is that he has a really full spectrum approach to getting better sleep. Some of them are obvious, like the classic early to bed, early to rise tip. But did you know that the body's rejuvenation mechanisms are amped between 10pm and 2am?It's science backed information like this that really helps. It's one thing to know that its better to get to sleep earlier, but quite another to learn that there's a real qualitative difference between sleeping between x and y hours. Common sense would dictate that you have to get x hours of sleep (I usually just get six, but we should be getting more, though Stevenson doesn't lay down the law on a number, instead focusing on better sleep quality), but who cares when we get it?It turns out that when you go to sleep, when you wake up, and which hours your body is resting are very important.The other point I'll make is that you may be reading this and saying "whatever." 21 tips? I can get this from the internet. But, back to my wife. I recently read a book called Paleo Fitness for Dummies, which is quite a good book in its own right. The authors of Paleo Fitness recommend some of the same things that Stevenson does, namely, try to cut out the electronic sources of lights 90 minutes before sleep and to go to sleep around or before 10 p.m. I tried to share this idea with my wife and she just laughed in my face. But after reading Sleep Smarter, she is buying in.*So, here's the point: sure, you can probably find information on many of these topics on the internet. Stevenson recommends meditation. There's plenty of information on meditation. Stevenson recommends light therapy. There's plenty of information out there. But, sometimes you need to convince people to buy in. Stevenson does such a good job assembling this information and presenting it in a compelling style, that it is well worth a few of your hard earned dollars.And maybe the person you will convince to buy in is you.Highly recommended.* I actually labeled this advice the bad in my review of Paleo Fitness!"The BadSome of the advice is very, very aspirational. The sleep section contains some great points, but who is going to completely shut down from the internet/tv at 8pm, be in bed by 10pm, and up before 7am? My wife just laughed at me when I read it out." http://www.amazon.com/review/R3FV78V733RKDW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_permAppreciation shoutout: I discovered Sleep Smarter through a podcast called The Man Project with Ted Ryce. Like the book, this podcast has wonderful and surprising life improving tips. I recommend it. Check it out.

It would be a monumental challenge to *not* improve your sleep quality and quantity after reading this book. There are a ton of easily digestible facts and science liberally sprinkled throughout and Shawn's personal stories fill in any gaps in motivation you might have to make some big changes (which go way beyond better sleep).In other words, the book is as big on the "why to" as it is on the "how to" – a rare combination these days. You may also find yourself laughing up a storm (instead of snoring up a storm) while reading this as Shawn is a funny dude. As a regular podcast listener of his The Model Health Show, I could hear his voice cracking the jokes in the book and they all landed with me.Now, some of the strategies are common sense things that anyone has heard before. "Don't drink caffeine too close to bed-time" or "Don't do activities that stimulate your brain before bed like watch thriller movies." But then there's tons of "Of course, that makes total sense moments!" in the book like optimal times to get sunlight to stimulate proper hormone regulation or protecting your gut health and its relationship to sleep.This is a book that anyone can benefit from and probably one that everyone should read. And I almost never say that about a book because most of them are situational or contextual. The 14-day sleep makeover journaling log and step-by-step instructions at the back of the book makes acting on all the great stuff in the book itself a no-brainer as well. The only thing I was disappointed with were the bonus materials that Shawn mentions over and over in the book. Sure, they were somewhat useful, but there weren't as many resources in the bonus guide as the book made it seem like there would be and the quality was a bit lower than the book itself.Overall, Sleep Smarter is going to make you smarter about every facet of your life. And how many times can you say that about a sub-200 page book?

I purchased Sleep Smarter kindle version after hearing Shawn Stevenson on the Rich Roll podcast. I was fascinated with the topic of sleep and also captivated by the author's personal story. I haven't slept well since my daughter was born 18 years ago, so this book definitely resonates with me. I am looking for practical ideas and easy to implement strategies to have better sleep hygiene. I can't say that I'm sleeping better right now because one has to actually implement the strategies for them to work and old habits are so hard to break. Some of the strategies in the book are common sense, others are ones that I had never heard about. The author does break down a lot of the science into lay terms that are easy to understand.