Sleep

William Glassman is a professor of psychology at Ryerson Polytechnical
University in Toronto.

We spend about a third of our life sleeping, and at some point nearly
everyone has difficulties with sleep—too little, too much, jet lag,
etc. Written by a man who’s been a family physician for over 20 years,
this down-to-earth guide for lay readers offers clear descriptions of a
wide range of sleep phenomena, along with a number of tips designed to
be of practical benefit (e.g., for parents concerned about infant/child
sleep patterns). Occasionally, the author oversimplifies. For example,
he gives advice on ways of coping with seasonal affective disorder
without offering any clear criteria for diagnosis, other than to suggest
that it may be “common” and varying in severity. Similarly, he
adopts a psychodynamic approach to dream interpretation (e.g.,
suggesting that intense emotions trigger dreams) without noting that not
all researchers accept this framework.

Caveats aside, for curious general readers, Caldwell’s Sleep provides
a clear and entertaining overview of how we spend our sleeping hours.