The Sleep Prescription: Seven Days to Unlocking Your Best Rest (The Seven Days Series)

I can't recommend this book highly enough. I downloaded it after seeing it cited in a recent article in the New York Times. The concepts in the book seemed instantly familiar because they are very similar to a 12-week program I undertook recently called "Sleep Reset," which consists of an app, a sleep coach, and a prescriptive program. This book read like a playbook to the Sleep Reset program. The difference is that the book goes into much more detail on the activities, underlying knowledge, and guidance provided in the Sleep Reset program. Some of the most important observations in the book:1. What we do during the day is at least as important (maybe more) than some of the sleep hygiene tactics we all know.2. Our bodies are designed to sleep and we often get in the way of our bodies natural desires and capabilities toward a good night's sleep by our behaviors, both at night and during the day.3. Sleep architecture (going through the sleep stages) is more important than the number of hours of sleep - we need to reach states of deep sleep to be rested (note: as a former taker of Ambien, I quit Ambien because I failed to reach the restful states of sleep I craved while on that med)4. Maybe the most important observation: staying in the bed too long and staying in bed *trying* fruitlessly to get to sleep or get back to sleep is one of the worst things we can do (and was something that I literally did for 20 years before learning this program)The book includes the science behind the cognitive behavioral therapy approach to getting better sleep, which is based on a program of sleep restriction, based on individualized 'sleep efficiency' ratings taken from a sleep diary that we are instructed to take (the author clearly explains how this works and it's very easy and not time consuming).The book is chock full of interesting and insightful anecdotes, based on the author's years as a sleep clinician. He also includes very helpful analogies. My favorite is the one that compares our bodies' desire for sleep to a balloon that builds pressure over the day. Nap if you wish, but you're letting air out of your sleep balloon that won't be there when you need it tonight! Another interesting observation of the author's is that blue light from our devices may not be the sleep bugaboo that it's made out to be, rather, it's the engagement that arouses our brains from reading the content on our devices, such as social media and stressful news reports that keeps us awake. Ditto for his observation around the role of not being able to shut our brains off from rehashing ruminating thoughts being one of the most important drivers of poor sleep. These causes are identified, along with tactical suggestions (ways to visualize to dismiss unwanted thoughts) and lifestyle suggestions (consider meditation and activity during the daytime)Lastly, I love that he sets our expectations. We are pretty much guaranteed to substantially improve our sleep by following his program, however, it's unrealistic to believe that we will have perfect sleep every night. If you read the book and follow this program, you WILL be rewarded by better sleep, although you will need to commit to lifestyle modifications and trade-offs to make this happen. It may feel that the changes result in your entire lifestyle shifting to get a better night's sleep, but the trade-off of having more energy, being able to concentrate, and just feeling more relaxed and happy are so worth it.

While there are many resources on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi), this book stands out. The author uses clear, concise language that makes the concepts accessible to everyone, without sacrificing the program's depth. Especially helpful are the end-of-chapter summaries, which provide actionable steps you can take immediately to improve your sleep.

This book seems to focus a lot on people who can’t get to sleep, versus those who fall asleep easily but wake up very early. Would like to see a revision or maybe a separate book entirely that focuses more on the 3am early risers. I’m guessing a lot of the practices apply to both, but I just didn’t see it mentioned much if at all.

I bought this book because the local sleep clinic can't give me feedback on a sleep study it took months to get for another couple of months they are so backed-up. I've read lots of books on sleep hygiene, etc. and was hoping for something new and helpful, and was very pleasantly surprised to find this book not only offers new tips for better sleep, but that they are backed up with scientific research. I'm following the practices and they are helping. Great book and highly recommended for anyone having trouble falling or staying asleep. Practical suggestions of what to do about sleep difficulty.

This book made a big difference in my sleep and life. Although anyone reading this review probably knows the big picture things already (don’t chug a bottle of wine before bed, don’t get worked up about stuff before bed), he writes everything in a pragmatic way that leads you to “let go” and stop being your own worst enemy. There were also a few simple steps I hadn’t thought about before (wake up at the same time everyday, ie don’t try ti catch up on sleep on weekends, which might be counter intuitive, made a big difference). The book is the right balance of scientific, prescriptive, humorous and overall very easy to read. Could not recommend enough.

I was suffering for years until learning about Dr Prather. Unfortunately he doesn’t accept patients oversea. I managed to fix my issue before finishing this book.

I don’t often write reviews but I felt the need to say that this book is life changing. I was going through a terrible bout of insomnia, and had become addicted to several sleep medications, but they had stopped working. I read this book and followed the plan to the last detail. And it worked. It took a few weeks to eradicate some of my bad sleep habits for since then I have been sleeping 8-9 hours uninterrupted every single night consistently. This method is life changing.

I have struggled with my sleep for several years. Mostly due to stress, which got worse when I couldn’t sleep, which was a viscous cycle of no sleep, high stress, and turning to sleep meds to try and break the never-ending cycle. THIS BOOK worked for me. From the straight-forward 7-day plan, to the knowledge and skills learned, and the overall approach. IT IS WORKING FOR ME! It’s so strange to actually be SLEEPING again - no meds, no anxiety about sleeping, no frustration. Thank you, Dr. Prather and team!

Well written with some humour. Easy to follow. Short but concise. Author is spot on with the advice provided.

Remarquable synthese pas à pas , traduction laborieuse pour un lecteur francais..mais tout y est avec humour et bienveillance, interressant pour tout le monde , insomniaque ou pas, patient ou docteur bravo