The Sleep Solution by W. Chris Winter — book cover

The Sleep Solution

W. Chris Winter · 2017

Neurologist and sleep specialist Dr. W. Chris Winter argues that most sleep problems aren't broken biology but a broken relationship with sleep, and shows you how to fix it using the same science-backed, drug-free tools he uses with his patients.

9 min read · 9 chapters · Health

Why it’s on the shelf

Practical, popular sleep doctor's guide full of actionable fixes for insomnia and better rest.

Three of the ideas you’ll keep

The Clif summary of The Sleep Solution pulls out 7 insights. Here are the first three.

  1. Sleep is a biological drive you can't outsmart, not a switch to flip: your job is to stop sabotaging it, not to force it.
  2. Insomnia is rarely 'not sleeping': it's a state of being anxious and frustrated about your sleep, and that anxiety is the real target.
  3. Stop confusing sleepiness (an urge to nod off) with fatigue (low energy); they have different causes and different fixes.

The other 4 — and the full 9-minute summary — are in the app.

What’s inside: 9 chapters

The whole summary runs about 9 minutes, read or listened to.

  1. Sleep Isn't Optional: Why It Runs Your Health
  2. Sleepiness vs. Fatigue: Naming the Right Problem
  3. How Sleep Actually Works: Two Forces and the Stages
  4. What Insomnia Really Is (and Isn't)
  5. Sleep Hygiene: Set the Stage, Then Get Out of the Way
  6. The Fixed Wake-Up and the Bed-Only-for-Sleep Rule
  7. Sleep Restriction: The Counterintuitive Reset
  8. Caffeine, Alcohol, and the Truth About Sleeping Pills
  9. Napping, Snoring, and Apnea: The Loose Ends That Wreck Nights

Finish The Sleep Solution tonight.

Read or listen to the full summary in about 9 minutes, then keep the ideas with a minute of review a day. Start with the 2-minute quiz — no card required.

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