The Need for Sleep

For each of us, every single day of our lives, the need for sleep is a powerful biologic force. Every twenty-four hours or so, we simply must lie down and rest for a period of time or we will be unable to continue to function. This regular requirement for sleep is so pressing, so demand­ing that, though it may be delayed or deferred, sleep cannot be denied completely. We all spend one-third of our lives asleep; it is simply part of the human condition, a basic requirement of life. In the pages that follow, this phenomenon of human sleep is explored as a natural history we all share.

Lights Alarm Clocks Of All Types

Until the 1950s sleep was thought to be a single night-long blankness of thought, not even worthy of studying, but the dis­covery of rapid eye movement or dream sleep suggested that perhaps there was more to it than first appeared. We now know that sleep is as complicated a physiologic state as wake­fulness, and the recent advances in understanding of the biology of sleep will be immediately applicable to your own pattern of rest.

Poor sleep limits the ability to function and to enjoy life, and the whole discipline of sleep medicine has evolved to study the reasons why this basic human need for rest is not ade­quately met in so many people.

I believe that sleep is very important to us all and that solid refreshing sleep can make a tremendous difference in the quality of your life, allowing you a joy and peace denied to those who sleep poorly. This book will, I hope, give you the knowledge to once again sleep like a baby, and awake refreshed and renewed every morning for the rest of your life.