The secret world of sleep : the surprising science of the mind at rest

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Title:

Author:

Lewis, Penelope A.

ISBN:

9781137279477

Personal Author:

Lewis, Penelope A.

Edition:

First Palgrave Macmillan Trade paperback edition.

Physical Description:

200 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

General Note:

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

Neuroscientist Penelope Lewis explores the latest research into the nighttime brain to understand the real benefits of sleep, showing how, while our body rests, the brain practices tasks it learned during the day, replays traumatic events to mollify them, and forges connections between distant concepts.

Contents:

Why sleep? -- How do we know sleep is important for the brain? -- Building blocks of the brain -- How the brain controls sleep -- Mental spring cleaning while you sleep -- How and why memories are "replayed" in sleep -- What is dreaming and what does it tell us about memory? -- Sleep, semantics, and the mind -- Emotional memories and sleep -- Does sleep disarm dangerous emotions? -- Good sleepers and bad sleepers -- Getting the most out of your sleep -- Brief notes on how to get the sleep you need.

Subject Term:

Sleep.

Sleep -- Physiological aspects.

Brain -- Physiology.

Consciousness.

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Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Book	QP425 .L492 2014	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

In recent years, neuroscientists have uncovered the countless ways our brain trips us up in day-to-day life, from its propensity toward irrational thought to how our intuitions deceive us. The latest research on sleep, however, points in the opposite direction. Where old wives tales have long advised to "sleep on a problem," today scientists are discovering the truth behind these folk sayings, and how the busy brain radically improves our minds through sleep and dreams. In The Secret World of Sleep , neuroscientist Penny Lewis explores the latest research into the nighttime brain to understand the real benefits of sleep. She shows how, while our body rests, the brain practices tasks it learned during the day, replays traumatic events to mollify them, and forges connections between distant concepts. By understanding the roles that the nocturnal brain plays in our waking life, we can improve the relationship between the two, and even boost creativity and become smarter. This is a fascinating exploration of one of the most surprising corners of neuroscience that shows how science may be able to harness the power of sleep to improve learning, health, and more.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Most of us have some vague impression of the scientific explanations for sleep-resting, reorganizing our thoughts, etc.-but probably no real idea of why or how these things work; luckily Lewis is able to fill in the gaps in her concise and accessible book. As director of Sleep and Memory Lab at the University of Manchester, she is an authority in field and presents her research in an easy-to-read manner. The book starts with the basics: what is sleep? Lewis offers a working "loose definition," is that it's "an inactive time during which an organism responds less than usual when poked or disturbed, but from which it can be roused if danger threatens." From there she explores several possible "reasons" for sleep, including the way the sleeping brain bolsters our ability to remember things (like someone's name, or the way to a friend's house) by something called "memory rehearsal," a reenactment of the information at the "neural level." Lewis also confirms a truth we may have known intuitively, if perhaps had yet to see confirmed by scientific study: "sleep-deprived people are more easily frustrated, intolerant, unforgiving, uncaring, and self-absorbed than they would be if they were properly rested." (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Choice Review

While everyone recognizes the physiological requirement of a restful sleep, far fewer understand the underlying cellular and biochemical complexities associated with the sleeping brain. Lewis has been studying the latter for years as the director of the Sleep and Memory Lab at the University of Manchester (UK). She utilizes a rich literature of sleep research to help readers connect their own experiences with sleep to the underlying biological mechanisms that produce that experience. For example, the fading memory of dreams is the result of the decreased responsiveness of the hippocampus--the part of the brain associated with memory--during sleep. The first four chapters of the book introduce basic brain anatomy and the biochemistry of neural communication. In the remaining chapters, readers learn that while the body may appear to be at rest, the brain remains busy reorganizing and replaying memories, managing stress, and even engaging in a creative process by making novel connections between disparate ideas and experiences. Each chapter concludes with a "Summing Up" section, which functions as a review of the most salient points. Both the subject matter and Lewis's engaging narrative style will appeal to a broad audience. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. J. A. Hewlett Finger Lakes Community College

Acknowledgments	p. vii
1 Why Sleep?	p. 1
2 How Do We Know Sleep Is Important for the Brain?	p. 15
3 Building Blocks of the Brain	p. 23
4 How the Brain Controls Sleep	p. 35
5 Mental Spring Cleaning While You Sleep	p. 49
6 How and Why Memories Are "Replayed" in Sleep	p. 57
7 What Is Dreaming and What Does It Tell Us About Memory?	p. 81
8 Sleep, Semantics, and the Mind	p. 101
9 Emotional Memories and Sleep	p. 115
10 Docs Sleep Disarm Dangerous Emotions?	p. 131
11 Good Sleepers and Bad Sleepers	p. 149
12 Getting the Most Out of Your Sleep	p. 161
13 Brief Notes on How to Get the Sleep You Need	p. 175
Notes	p. 187
Index	p. 193

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Choice Review

Table of Contents