Retelling:

There is a lot that scientists still do not know about sleep. We know that 11 days is the longest anyone has ever gone without sleep and survived. We know that sleep is necessary for all animals, but we still don't know why.

Scientists have measured the effect that a good night's sleep has on a person's ability to perform during the day. They know that a few minutes more or less of sleep each night can make a surprisingly large difference in performance.

Recent advances in technology have allowed scientists to measure electrical pulses (or waves) in the brain. They have discovered that the length of waves varies during sleep as opposed to during waking hours, and changes more depending on what "stage" of sleep a person is in. While a person is dreaming (in REM sleep), the type of wave (beta waves) normally associated with a very active and alert brain appear to increase (as though the person were awake again).

Thoughts and feelings: As you may have noticed if you read a lot of my reviews, I enjoy science books that identify limitations on our current understanding of the world. This book emphasizes that sleeping and dreaming are still very mysterious, despite recent advances in our understanding. I can't imagine what the scientist who first applied the EEG, the EMG, and the EOG to a sleeping person must have felt when the machine revealed so many differences between the state of being awake and the state of being asleep. This book is a fascinating read. I wonder how dreams seem to solve puzzles sometimes, or why our brains subject us to nightmares? I would highly recommend reading this book, particularly before going to sleep. Maybe the answers to our remaining sleep questions will be resolved in our dreams!

Do you ever start to fall asleep and suddenly jerk your arms and legs? Hypnic jerk. Have you ever gone to sleep in your bed and woken up on the living room couch? June 25, 2005, a fifteen year old girl left her house, walked to a nearby construction site, climbed to the top of a 130-foot crane, walked along its narrow beam, and curled up on a concrete counterweight . she wasn't frightened, or reckless. She was asleep. We spend about 1/3 of our life sleeping, but what do we know about sleep? With modern equipment, scientists are able to monitor brain activity and see some of what is going on. Scientists have identified the different cycles we go through in sleep. REM sleep is where we have dreams. This book won't bore you to sleep, but it will give you something to think about. A students averaged 15 more minutes of sleep per night than b students, b 11 minutes more than c and c 10 minutes more than d. Less than an hour's difference, but what a difference.

A very easy read with content that is informative and interesting. Side stories are are interspersed throughout the book. It made the book a lot more enjoyable to read with the inclusion of the true tales. I would have preferred photographs with this book, but the line drawings do lighten up the topic.

The author shares information on what happens to our bodies while we are asleep. Students will learn interesting facts about our brain, theories about dreams, and how sleep affects behavior. Cartoon illustrations are detailed and will appeal to children. Very interesting, informative and an easy read.

Did you ever wonder what happens to you when you go to sleep?

In All About Sleep, Elaine Scott answers all your questions about sleep in a very readable way. Topics include brain waves, dreams, circadian rhythms, and more. She includes fun facts throughout the text (for instance, did you know that Abraham Lincoln dreamed about assassination three days before he was killed? Or that Harriet Tubman had narcolepsy?).

I give this book high marks for being interesting and readable, but low marks for design. John O'Brien provides a few cartoony illustrations, but the bulk of the book is text and it's not very spiffy-looking. An index and bibliography are included.

Read more on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/01/book-review-all-about-sleep.html ( )