Hello Sleep - by Jade Wu

About the Book

"Hello Sleep is a practical and compassionate guide to having a better relationship with sleep and overcoming insomnia from Jade Wu, an experienced expert in behavioral sleep medicine. For many people who have trouble sleeping, each night is an anxious odyssey where getting a good night's sleep feels like a battle to win rather than a basic biologic process. Hello Sleep is a guide for people with insomnia to help them shift their relationship with sleep, so that it stops being a battle and starts being enjoyable and natural again. It is a practical, self-guided tour through evidence-based interventions for chronic insomnia, including cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), phototherapy, chronotherapy, mindfulness-based approaches, and medication tapering. Jade Wu is a behavioral sleep medicine specialist and researcher who has helped hundreds of patients over a period of ten years. She provides in-depth but down-to-earth scientific explanations of how sleep and insomnia work; anecdotes about real patients' experiences with overcoming insomnia; rationale for why the evidence-based interventions help; and tips for how to problem-solve common pitfalls, along with tailored recommendations for special circumstances (e.g., pregnancy/postpartum, menopause, chronic pain, depression, older adults etc.). Wu's practical recommendations support a philosophical theme: Sleep is a friend, and it's the nurturing of our relationship with this friend-rather than an anxious nightly battle-that will give us sustainable sleep health. Hello Sleep is not a rigid set of rules or a one-size-fits-all approach. Wu believes this can make things worse for those with insomnia issues, making what was once easy and intuitive into something effortful and elusive. Instead, this book treats insomniacs with respect, by giving them knowledge and empowering them to trust themselves and their own sleep"--

Book Synopsis

A practical and compassionate guide to repairing your relationship with sleep

For the twenty-five million Americans who struggle with insomnia, each night feels like a battle with their racing minds instead of a blissful surrender into sleep. Hello Sleep is a guide for the tired but wired people who just want sleep to be easy. Dr. Jade Wu, an internationally recognized behavioral sleep medicine specialist, walks you through the science of how the brain sleeps (or doesn't); shares stories from the clinic of real people's journeys to better sleep; and lays out a step-by-step program for overcoming insomnia and letting go of sleeping pills. Using her years of clinical expertise, she problem-solves your common pitfalls, soothes your anxieties, and tailors recommendations for your special sleep circumstances (e.g., pregnancy, menopause, chronic pain, depression, etc.).

Hello Sleep empowers the sleepless with the latest knowledge and most effective tools, allowing them to trust themselves and their own sleep again. It will answer these burning questions and more:

- Why can't I fall asleep even though I'm tired? How can I quiet my mind?

- What should I do when I wake up at 2:00 A.M. and can't get back to sleep?

- Should I nap? What can I do about my fatigue during the day?

- How do I get off sleep medications safely and without rebound insomnia?

Review Quotes

"A compassionate guide to combating insomnia...Readers struggling to get enough sleep will find a welcome resource here."--Publishers Weekly

"Hello Sleep gets at a fundamental truth about insomnia that is often overlooked--overcoming insomnia is not about trying harder, but rather repairing your relationship with sleep. This book provides concrete, science-based advice, and Dr. Wu writes with insight, compassion, and humor that will help readers regain a sense of wonder and appreciation toward their sleep."--Jennifer Mundt, PhD, DBSM, Director of Behavioral Sleep Medicine at Northwestern Medicine, Assistant Professor of Neurology (Sleep Medicine)

"An easy to read but factually dense guide that will take its readers from the darkness of insomnia to a new-found confidence in their own sleep. Insomnia can be fixed, and the steps are here in the pages that follow."--W. Chris Winter, MD, author of The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

"If you are tired of trying to solve the riddle of insomnia, this book will be your new best friend. Dr. Wu reveals how changing your relationship with sleep can be more important than following a list of do's and don'ts. The result is a book full of answers to those burning sleep questions along with a practical plan that will rekindle your love for sleep."--Jason C. Ong, PhD, DBSM, Behavioral Sleep Medicine Director at Nox Health, Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology at Feinberg School of Medicine

"A friendly and accessible handbook for anyone looking to get better sleep. The information is authoritative and accurate, reflecting some of the best state-of-the-science advice, presented in a way that makes complex concepts easy to grasp."--Michael Grandner, PhD, CBSM, FAASM, Director of the Sleep and Heath Research Program at the University of Arizona, and Director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner-University Medical Center.

About the Author

JADE WU, PhD, DBSM, is a Board-certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist and researcher at Duke University School of Medicine. She is a contributor to NBC News, BBC News, Scientific American, and a former writer and host of the popular Savvy Psychologist podcast. She is the former Co-Chair of Outreach and Public Education at the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine. She lives in Durham, North Carolina with her family and (too many) animals.