Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Lights Out


There are few books that have managed to "rock my world". This is one of them:
An overview of the book:

With research gleaned from the National Institutes of Health, T. S. Wiley and Bent Formby deliver staggering findings: Americans really are sick from being tired. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and depression are rising in our population. We're literally dying for a good night's sleep.

Our lifestyle wasn't always this way. It began with the invention of the lightbulb.

When we don't get enough sleep in sync with seasonal light exposure, we fundamentally alter a balance of nature that has been programmed into our physiology since Day One. This delicate biological rhythm rules the hormones and neurotransmitters that determine appetite, fertility, and mental and physical health. When we rely on artificial light to extend our day until 11 PM, midnight, and beyond, we fool our bodies into living in a perpetual state of summer. Anticipating the scarce food supply and forced inactivity of winter, our bodies begin storing fat and slowing metabolism to sustain us through the months of hibernation and hunger that never arrive.
This is a great book for those who are NOT OCD. I feel like I am a pretty laid back kinda person and this book makes me nervous. It makes me really consider the things that I do/eat on a day to day basis (and night to night), but I take it in stride... There are things that you strive for and there are things that you just allow. If you make a mistake along the way, make a better choice next time.
Anyway this is a good book if you like science and can get past a little sarcasm.

No comments: