The Nocturnal Brain

Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep

By: Guy Leschziner

Narrated by: Guy Leschziner

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

This program is read by the author.

A renowned neurologist shares the true stories of people unable to get a good night’s rest in The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep, a fascinating exploration of the symptoms and syndromes behind sleep disorders. 

For Dr. Guy Leschziner’s patients, there is no rest for the weary in mind and body. Insomnia, narcolepsy, night terrors, apnea, and sleepwalking are just a sampling of conditions afflicting sufferers who cannot sleep - and their experiences in trying are the stuff of nightmares. Demoniac hallucinations frighten people into paralysis. Restless legs rock both the sleepless and their sleeping partners with unpredictable and uncontrollable kicking. Out-of-sync circadian rhythms confuse the natural body clock’s days and nights.  

Then there are the extreme cases. A woman in a state of deep sleep who gets dressed, unlocks her car, and drives for several miles before returning to bed. The man who has spent decades cleaning out kitchens while “sleep-eating”. The teenager prone to the serious, yet unfortunately nicknamed Sleeping Beauty Syndrome stuck in a cycle of excessive unconsciousness, binge eating, and uncharacteristic displays of aggression and hypersexuality while awake.  

With compassionate stories of his patients and their conditions, Dr. Leschziner illustrates the neuroscience behind our sleeping minds, revealing the many biological and psychological factors necessary in getting the rest that will not only maintain our physical and mental health, but improve our cognitive abilities and overall happiness.

©2019 Guy Leschziner (P)2019 Simon & Schuster UK

Not Suitable as an audio book.

It's essentially a compilation of case reports in the form of stories with little pathophysiology despite the heavy use of acronyms. Most strage is the analogy the author used to explain the opening of the Na+ gates upon the depolarization of the neuronal membrane sufficiently to trigger an action potential (a nerve impulse). The author likened the rush of Na+ into the neuron to the flushing of the toilet.
Overall, I am disappointed.

Interesting and informative.

This was a good book, but it was slow. It was a book that I had to be in the mood to read, and I could only read a little at a time. It had some very interesting stories about sleep conditions. I think that the author explained things well and made it easy to understand without making it sound like he was talking down to the reader. It had a little technical stuff but only enough to explain how the brain works. I feel like I came away with a better understanding about sleep and the problems people can have with it. I read this book on audible. It was narrated well but sometimes I had a hard time understanding the narrators accent.

Excellent

This is a superb overview of the presentation, diagnosis and treatment of both usual and quite unusual sleep disorders. It will be well worth your time!

It was pretty darn good

No complaints, besides the British accent...wasn’t expecting that and didn’t like it, personally myself.

very informative and never boring

this work riches in many subjects with lots of stories and examples of each section. definitely worthy of another listen and a recommendation.

interesting, but slow

Interesting topic, relatable case studies.
Pace was too slow though, and I struggled to finish.

Nocturnal Brain

I had a very hard time getting into this book. It was very clinical and dealt with many different patients with sleep disorders, unique sleep disorders. it was putting me to sleep because I have very little to no interest in this subject.