“Dreamland” is definitely not a heavy in-depth scientific study on sleep disorders. It is, instead, a light read that includes interesting, sometimes amusing, facts and anecdotes on the subject.

When Old English texts from the Middle Ages refer to first sleep or second sleep, did you know that's how our brains are hard-wired to sleep? People regularly woke about halfway through their sleep cycle, stayed awake about an hour or 2, then had their second sleep. That all changed with the introduction of artificial light. This book explores the impact of sleep and sleep disorders on our health, productivity, our lives. Some interesting tidbits, but a bit of a disappointment. I've read better books on the topic.

An extremely disappointing book that reads like a magazine article stretched to 266 pages. Each chapter presents, at most, one interesting detail followed and preceded by ten pages of fluff. In 2009, PBS's science program Nova had an episode called "What Are Dreams." It's on Youtube. Randall sites nearly all the information presented in this program in his book in much the same order, but does so with less ability and charm. As a bookish, library enthusiast I hate to say it, but go watch the tv show. It's a better use of your time.

just talked about sleep in general and how important it is

Interesting facts accessibly presented. Favors light coverage of many topics related to sleep over an in-depth exploration of any.

Very informative with little jokes here and there... Not bad at all!!!