Sleep Smarter

21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to a Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success

By: Shawn Stevenson, Sara Gottfried MD - foreword

Narrated by: Sara Gottfried, Shawn Stevenson

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

When it comes to health, there is one criminally overlooked element: sleep. Good sleep helps you shed fat for good, stave off disease, stay productive, and improve virtually every function of your mind and body. That's what Shawn Stevenson learned when a degenerative bone disease crushed his dream of becoming a professional athlete. Like many of us, he gave up on his health and his body...until he decided there must be a better way. Through better sleep and optimized nutrition, Stevenson not only healed his body but also achieved fitness and business goals he never thought possible.

In Sleep Smarter, Stevenson shares easy tips and tricks to discover the best sleep and best health of your life. With his 14-Day Sleep Makeover, you'll learn how to create the ideal sleep sanctuary, how to hack sunlight to regulate your circadian rhythms, which clinically proven sleep nutrients and supplements you need, and stress-reduction exercises and fitness tips to keep you mentally and physically sharp.

Sleep Smarter is the ultimate guide to sleeping better, feeling refreshed, and achieving a healthier, happier life.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2016 Shawn Stevenson (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Some sound advice, pseuodoscience & self promotion

What would have made Sleep Smarter better?

Sleep Smarter is a blend of sound, science based advice, pseudo-science, and frequent self promotion. Much of the sound, science based advice can be found elsewhere. Much of the pseudo-science can be found on websites that promote dubious cures and make dubious claims. The blend reminds me of what I've heard of Dr. Oz.

Two examples that stick out are how magnesium is best absorbed through a magnesium oil spray (and he recommends a specific one in his "bonus" material) and how ***RADIATION*** (you can hear the all caps and emphasis in the audio) from your cell phone will affect your sleep and cause cancer so you should keep the phone in another room. Keeping the phone in another room is a good idea, but not because of ***RADIATION***.

What was most disappointing about Shawn Stevenson and Sara Gottfried MD - foreword ’s story?

The frequency of self promotion "the number one health podcast" got old. I got the feeling that the pseudo-science was sometimes the result of product placement compensation.

Some parts good, but be careful

There was some great content in here, but it was surrounded by far too much pseudoscience and throwing around individual studies' results as "truth." You know it's not trustworthy when you keep hearing things being thrown around as fact, such as with the word "causes," rather than "correlates with."

The author was really easy to listen to, however. The only other thing I got tired of is how often he said to check out more info in the bonus resource guide. I bet there's more in that "bonus" guide than this whole book (for better or worse)

Some good suggestions, but very biased strategies

This book had some decent ideas, many of them not new. Things like go to bed and wake up and the same time every day. Stop being a night owl; going to bed early and rising early. Get actual daylight for 30 minutes around 10. Prime sleep time is from 10pm to 2am. Get 7-8 hours of sleep daily, Keep your room dark and free of television. Don't use your smartphone or other computing devices within a couple hours of sleep due to the blue light messing with your melatonin levels. Don't drink caffeine after 2pm. Use Magnesium spray just before bed. Exercise and eat healthy.

A lot of the author's suggestions really showed his bias and in many cases were totally unrealistic and in one case offensive. While the author acknowledges the fact that people work odd hours for their jobs he advocates that they quite and find different ones. Makes me wonder if he would promote that when he needs the police and medical people in the early am. The author plainly indicates that people who have sleep apnea suffer from it solely because they are overweight and comments that their love life will not exist because the C-Pap device they where makes them look like a villain from one of the Batman movies. I know several people who are very thin and fit and still have sleep apnea. The author also promotes a lot of devices, supplements, and therapies (like massage a couple of times a week); all of which are very expensive. He promotes the Intelligel beds which are also extremely expensive.

In short the author, who was absolutely horrible as a narrator, provides a few suggestions that are commonly known, Recommends a bunch of expensive stuff, and sites some studies (who can't find A (singular) study to support their theory these days) and states that anyone who isn't following his life style, basically a 9-5 job that pays really good money to afford all the stuff he wants you to buy, including organic foods and grass feed type meats, needs to completely quit what they're doing and change. This isn't a book I could recommend.

Mostly Hype and Sales

There is quite a bit that I am taking from this book. One thing is that I need to do more research because there is a good deal in here that is fairly bogus and unthought through. Suggesting that people dim the lights in their house is actually dangerous. Most homes have too little light to be safe. And lighting candles is not going to help. He also cites some pretty questionable practices such as earthing, which has been significantly debunked by real science. There is lots of bonus material, all aimed at selling you something. I hate the format but I have take a few things from this book that I am using an that are helping me achieve better sleep.

Best Book on Sleep I've Ever Read

Would you listen to Sleep Smarter again? Why?

I took copious notes. I'll be reusing the information from this book for years to come. Read the book, you'all.

What did you like best about this story?

I'm a scientist, aka I'm picky about health books and depth of information. This book, I loved. It simplified the science but really contained heavyweight information about cortisol, omega 3's, lighting and hormones, temperature, and so much more.

What I needed to create a great morning and bed time routine

I loved the authors voice and learned a lot about sleep and why people say it's more important to workout in the morning than in the evening. I applied this book to my life and I feel amazing. I want to thank the author. I'm very grateful that I found this book.

Enlightening

I honestly assumed I knew everything he was going to say, because I am a big advocate of sleep already, but there were still many aha moments that will for sure improve my life. Already I am sleeping better than I have in a loooooong time. So worth the read from start to finish.

Mostly good info

Most of the information in this book seems good, and matches my understanding from a wide variety of other sources. Unfortunately the author includes references to junk pseudo-science about "grounding", and very inaccurate / misleading information about the effects and amelioration of EMF ... those sections can safely be ignored. Still, the inclusion of such poorly researched material leaves me doubting the accuracy of the other sections. Cross referencing with other trustworthy sources is highly recommended.

A more fitting title would be “Movie Reference: THE BOOK”

This book contains some generally good advice on how to improve one’s sleep. I’d say this is more Sleeping Better 101, as everything in this book is pretty introductory and commonly found in other books and articles.

Shawn Stevenson apparently thinks that making lots of movie references is either funny or makes him more relatable, and it just doesn’t. He gives many shout outs to his own podcast. Doing it once would be ok, but he does it a lot. All in all, this book’s all right.

This will help you sleep better

The book is structured logically with one key point in each chapter supported by research and studies and followed by tips. Some tips are simple and obvious (if you have a big engagement on a certain day, schedule your calendar so you're getting enough sleep for at least several days before the engagement). Another obvious tip but hard to implement is not to use your devices or watch TV an hour before your bedtime. The blue light from the monitors and addictive apps will make you alert and lessen your quality of sleep. Even if you're sleeping for 7-8 hours, you will not be getting the REM and deep sleep that your body needs (which is why you wake up drowsy). Another good tip is to meditate, especially if you have inner chatter running in your head at night. A surprising tip is to get more sunlight, particularly from 6 am to 8:30 am, to wake up your body and regulate your circadian rhythm. There are also tips contrary to what many people believe. Don't exercise before bedtime. It raises your body's core temperature and makes it harder to fall asleep (despite feeling physically tired). With so many tips provided, you can implement a few at a time and evaluate how it affects the quality of your sleep.

Reached Chapter 7 and its just obvious.

This list is so obvious. If you can not sleep you will already be avoiding tech, coffee and keeping room cool, getting to bed at right time etc. It is so basic. It does not tackle insomnia or poor sleep for people who are looking for help beyond the obvious. Start from chapter 6 to miss boring bits but it's long and drawn out. Padded out with dialogue.

sleepsmarterbook.com/bonus

This is basically a very long advert to go to the website for the book and download their preferred buyers list of products. You also have to sign up which is very irritating. I hate giving my email over just to receive some spam.

The content of the book is actually very good just the endless plugging of the website does you in, by the end of the book the only thing you remember is the web address! -5 stars for shameless marketing.

Love this guy. Massive Value.

My husband has serious sleep problems which has had significant knock on effects with his overall health. I instinctively knew that pills were not treating the issue and would likely just add to his troubles, so i went searching for better answers. I found so much more than I had even hoped for in this book. The content and research behind it goes so far beyond what I expected of the topic. He gives actionable tips as well as an in depth education on how everything in our body works together. I took away so many nuggets even for myself (I thought I had this sleeping thing down- I was wrong). I'm now a serial listener to his podcast, The Model Health Show, and know I can turn on any episode and I'll learn something new. Couldn't recommend this book enough. Thank you Shawn for the work you do. You're not just inspiring change in me and my family, you're providing the road map and the tools.

Eye opening

Where does Sleep Smarter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Pretty high

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sleep Smarter?

Finding out I need to move in order to absorb nutrients from food

Have you listened to any of Shawn Stevenson and Sara Gottfried ’s other performances? How does this one compare?

nope

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

eliminate tech, go back to nature

Any additional comments?

Seriously eye opening, also one listening is not enough, this book is like a handbook and is maybe better suited to either be just a paper book or come with a set of premade NOTES because there is too much information that is not repeated thus too hard to memorize.

Great book

An easy and interesting listen.

Lots of helpful is and strategies to help get the body in better shape to sleep well.

Much broader view than CBT for Insomnia.

Only criticism is that statements and assertions are not clearly referenced in the main text. Furthermore, in the reference list, many opinion pieces rather than journal articles have been listed.

Some great tips to help you get your sleep in orde

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes if they were having sleep issues

What other book might you compare Sleep Smarter to, and why?

None I can think of

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The action steps at the end of each chapter

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not exactly

Any additional comments?

The only annoying part for me was the constant reminder to check out the website. That was too much.

Contradictory and full of bro science

I hardly think a house plant will significantly alter the oxygen to carbon dioxide ratio in the bed room. If that was your goal then asking your carbon dioxide producing partner to sleep in a separate room would have much greater impact. Thinking of something exciting before going to sleep to help you get out of bed in the morning seems contradictory. I remember being a child on Christmas eve, being excited about the next day certainly helps you to get up early with enthusiasm but hinders falling to sleep. There are much better books based on real science written by people clinically researching the subject which I found more informative.

Turgid soma for the internet-assembled masses

Despite my initial enthusiasm, I could not finish this book. I am not sure if there is something lost in the audible version, but the content, structure and style simply felt like an insult to my limited intelligence. There are reams of (unsourced and readily accepted) statistics, mixed with twee anecdotes that often - whilst engaging - are completely fallacious in context of the point being made. Together, they pad out an otherwise limited volume of genuine content. I counted 50+ instances of the author starting a statement with "another study indicated..." followed by some numbers, in order to affirm the consequent. There was no qualification or any apparent critical thinking; this was pulp-faction magazine journalism in a book. Vox pop writing doesn't mean an author needs to write for such a base common denominator.

Interesting, opinionated and not entirely scientific

The book is interesting and covers a vast array of topics related to health and sleep. Unfortunately the author is citing a lot of studies that contradict other well known peer reviewed studies. It is still an interesting book just don’t believe everything it says.

Very unscientific but possibly helpful

Although I found this book inspiring in many ways, I have given it a low rating simply because it's highly unscientific. I recommend trying out some of the tips if they work for you, but do take the scientific claims with a large pinch of salt! The author consistently uses small, questionable and untested studies and subjective experience as scientific 'proof', and uncritically mixes new age explanations with science. Be critical.
That being said, he has a great passion for health and wellbeing which is motivating and inspiring - and some of the science is sound enough. So be critical, be inspired and read a different book to get the science down.