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Genre :Non fiction /Neuroscience
Author ;Dr Guy Leschziner [ Currently a consultant neurologist and clinical lead in the center for Adult Sleep Disorders at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals in London ]
It's a compilation of clinical cases described by the neurologist during his work at the Sleep Disorders Centre In London. We'll get to explore 14 stories detailing a range of sleep disorders from commonly known ones like Insomnia ,sleepwalking and sleep apnea to less known conditions .Each condition is relayed skilfully including pathophysiology, history, culture, ethics, sociology, and law, and more importantly the experience of the patients Shedding the light on the real human experience endured by the patients as a result of their diagnoses. Due to the rarity of some conditions ,the research in the area is limited therefore the mechanism and treatment of these conditions isn't opltimal .But the rarity interferes too with the diagnostic of these disorders ,leaving the person perplexed with the range of symptoms he experiences .
We all agree that sleep is important in our life ,its role in maintaining the brain ( memory, mood, vigilance ) and our physical and mental health and cognitive abilities .But the system may go awry sometimes ; resulting in a huge array of phenomena. Those sleep disorders may be secondary to abnormalities in the brainstem ,genetic factors or Chemical abnormalities .Sleep disorders are like other neurological disorders present as lesions of the nervous system (microscopic, transient or genetically determined).
As a medical student ,I enjoyed Dr Leschziner tackling of the subject . It added the human side of the disorders ,that we may not encounter while reading textbooks .He emphasizes the importance of analyzing thoroughly the patient's history ;one of the first skills we learn during our rotations at the hospital .
It was actually my first time discovering a wide range of medical conditions I never heard of , mainly because sleep disorders are not detailed in our medical courses .
Dr Guy answers one of the questions he answers is "How much sleep is enough ?" and surprisingly there's no right number but a range of normal sleep requirements. It depends on genes, and the quality of sleep. We have enough sleep when we wake up feeling refreshed during the day then going to bed at a regular time .The second question is about the utility the sleep trackers ,that only detect movement during sleep so they aren't accurate .There's a phenomenon where people are diagnosing themselves with sleep disorders based upon the dodgy output of their sleep trackers ,and it's called "orthosomnia ' ( the new info of the day ) .
The book is written for a large audience ,and the author tries to explains the medical words to make it accessible ,there are also diagrams for a more comprehensive read .
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