These sleep books could be the solution to your insomnia, so here are the best ones to read when you just can't switch off
When I’m really struggling to count the sheep, I turn to a sleep book. As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes even the best podcasts, pillow sprays and weighted blankets aren’t enough to get me to sleep. They certainly do the trick most of the time, don’t get me wrong, but a sleep book (somewhere between a self-help book and a mindful/meditation activity) will have you dozing off in seconds – trust me.
I have anxiety, which means I often rely heavily on products which can take my mind off things, even if just momentarily. It tends to get worse at night time, so when I find myself struggling to sleep, unable to shake intrusive thoughts, I turn to books that I know are going to relax me and provide genuine tips and tricks on how to wind down.
According to research, 36% of UK adults struggle to get to sleep on a weekly basis and nearly half of the UK have trouble falling asleep on a monthly basis. The same study found that women tend to have more trouble falling asleep than men, too. That’s a lot of people who are awake when they needn't be.
Mentalhealth.org.uk reported that more than a third of adults in the UK said that sleeping poorly made them feel more anxious, while more than four in 10 said it had made them feel more irritable and angry. Turns out burning the midnight oil really can affect us.
What are the best books about sleep? What to read if you can’t sleep?
Dr. Guy Meadows’s The Sleep Book: How To Sleep Well Every Night book is up there with the best. Using a blend of mindfulness and new ACT therapy techniques, the author shares his unique five-week plan to help resolve your sleep problem, whether it's a few restless nights or a lifetime of insomnia.
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker explores twenty years of cutting-edge sleep science, delving into what really happens during REM sleep and why our sleep patterns change as we grow older. Sometimes understanding the science behind sleep can help us to actually utilise it.
Elsewhere, This Book Will Send You To Sleep by K. McCoy makes no claims to be fun or interesting but promises that you will instead find absolutely nothing within it stimulating. It’s a book that will afford you copious amounts of pointless knowledge, therefore boring your brain into sleep. Clever.
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Scroll down to the top 15 sleep books to read for a peaceful night of endless z’s.
Sleep book
Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams, £9.34, Amazon
From what really happens during REM sleep to how caffeine and alcohol affect sleep and why our sleep patterns change as we grow older, Why We Sleep is the wake-up call we need: transforming our appreciation of the vital role of sleep in all aspects of our lives.
Sleep book
The Sleep Book: How to Sleep Well Every Night, £5.50, Amazon
Most people who have trouble sleeping invest a huge amount of time, effort and money into fixing the problem, but Dr. Guy has discovered the secret lies not in what you do, but what you learn not to do. By popular demand, his highly effective and 100% natural insomnia remedy is now here in this book.
Sleep book
Teach Yourself to Sleep: An Ex-Insomniac's Guide, £4, Amazon
After decades of trying traditional methods to cure her poor sleep, Kate Mikhail shares her approach. Blending first-person experience with accessible sleep science and interviews with leading doctors, scientists and academics, as well as highly effective sleep 'scripts' provided exclusively for this book by sleep experts.
Sleep book
Navigating Sleeplessness: How to Sleep Deeper and Better for Longer, £6.79, Amazon
This book by Dr Lindsay Browning will teach you how to understand the difference between 'good' and 'bad' sleep, cope better with temporary sleeplessness, unlearn bad habits, learn techniques for calming your overactive mind at night, and much more.
Sleep book
The Little Book of Sleep, £5.39, Amazon
How much sleep is normal? What might be preventing you from sleeping well? This trusty book deals with both of these questions and more. The Little Book of Sleep shows which foods are over-stimulating and which are calming, looks at dreams and what they mean, provides advice on surviving long plane journeys and avoiding the dreaded jet lag, and ends with a few sleepy myths that will have you nodding off in no time.
Sleep book
A Pocket Coach: The Sleep Coach, £6.55, WHSmith
From the bestselling author of The Mindfulness Companion and The Can't Sleep Colouring Journal comes The Sleep Coach, designed to help you improve your sleep and, as a consequence, your quality of life. From diet and exercise to underlying stress or anxiety, Dr. Arnold helps your nail your sleep patterns and get the quality sleep you deserve.
Save when you shop for a sleep book with these WHSmith discount codes.
Sleep book
Fast Asleep: How To Get A Really Good Night's Rest, £6.99, Amazon
In Fast Asleep, Dr. Michael Mosley explains exactly what happens to us when we sleep, and how getting a regular 7-8 hours sleep a night can reduce our risk of depression, keep us healthy and help us fight chronic disease. With advice on everything from how to improve your sleep hygiene to the importance of gut health, this book provides you with the tools you need not just to sleep better but to reduce stress levels, and feel happier and healthier every day.
Sleep book
In Sleep, Nick Littlehales, the leading sleep coach, debunks the myths around sleep and introduces many new concepts, including: why the fabled eight hours just doesn't add up, the power of the nap, ways to deal with anxiety and other night-time challenges, and how to discover your own sleep cycle.
Sleep book
Sleep: Harness the Power of Sleep for Optimal Health and Wellbeing, £8.19, WHSmith
Take control of your sleep with over 40 proven strategies, based on a 360 degree approach to achieving excellent sleep. Find targeted meditation, movement and breathing exercises, and discover how light, colour, and sound could hold the key to healthy sleep while finding out how to get to the root of the underlying causes of chronic sleep problems.
Save when you shop for a sleep book with these WHSmith discount codes.
Sleep book
The Book of Sleep: 75 Strategies to Relieve Insomnia, £10.99, Amazon
Make your bed and actually sleep in it. The Book of Sleep provides dozens of quick, easy, and evidence-based strategies that are more effective and sustainable than sleep medication for people who suffer from insomnia.
Sleep book
Good sleep helps you shed fat for good, stave off disease, stay productive and improve virtually every function of your mind and body. In Sleep Smarter, Shawn Stevenson speaks on how a degenerative bone disease caused him to take his health into his own hands and shares his easy tips and tricks to discover the best sleep and best health of your life.
Sleep book
This Book Will Send You to Sleep, £8.19, WHSmith
This book is one you can read in full confidence that you will find absolutely nothing to stimulate your brain. Where else will you read about the political crisis in Belgium 2007-2011 or the recent developments in the taxonomy of molluscs? It will afford you much sleep and copious amounts of pointless knowledge.
Save when you shop for a sleep book with these WHSmith discount codes.
Sleep book
Wake Up to Sleep, £8.59, Amazon
Inspired by his work with military veterans, sleep expert Charlie Morley explores how to combat the harmful effects of stress and trauma in order to achieve restful sleep and healing dreams. This guide shares more than 20 body, breath, sleep and dreaming techniques, all proven to help reduce anxiety, improve sleep quality, integrate nightmares, increase your energy and transform your relationship with sleep.
Sleep book
The Self-Empowering Sleep Book, £9.99, Amazon
This book guides you through a unique and easy 3-step sleep method with no pills, no diets, and no complexity. Experience significant improvements within five days to four weeks. Who better to share practical solutions that will help you sleep smarter than an author who has been through the difficulties of insomnia and solved them?
Sleep book
The Little Book of Sleep: The Art of Natural Sleep, £6.29, Amazon
Sleep expert Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan explains why a good night's sleep is essential in today's demanding, 24/7, technology-driven world and introduces you to the science of sleep. Using a unique combination of Eastern and Western practices, including yoga, ayurveda and body-awareness techniques, with an abundance of invaluable advice and techniques, this book guides the reader on a personal journey back to sleep.
