New book reveals Americans are dangerously rest-deprived – and more sleep isn’t the answer

Award-winning sleep, rest, and body clock expert Dr. Matthew Edlund has identified an ongoing health crisis.  After years of clinical research and consultations with hundreds of patients, he discovered that many people aren’t just sleep-deprived, they’re rest-deprived. The result?  Our hearts, minds, and central nervous systems are overloaded, our health is suffering, and we’ve forgotten what it feels like to be truly refreshed.  Dr. Edlund’s new book THE POWER OF REST: Why Sleep Alone is Not Enough (HarperOne, Hardcover, $24.99, June 8, 2010) provides a comprehensive step-by-step solution to rebuilding our natural ability to rest.

Too many people today accept sluggishness and fatigue as the inevitable side effects of hectic lives, and believe that there isn’t much they can do about it besides squeezing in another hour or two of sleep.  Getting enough sleep is important (and Dr. Edlund provides plenty of expert advice on sleeping well) but it’s only one part of a much larger spectrum of rest.  The benefits of making time for rest have proven extraordinary: when people engage the body’s power to restore and renew itself, they look younger, heal faster, lose weight more effectively, and experience greater joy in their work and their relationships.

Dr. Edlund has isolated the unique benefits of four crucial types of active rest to create a groundbreaking program that fits easily into even the busiest schedules.  The four types of rest include:

Physical Rest: Sleep is one form of passive physical rest, but engaging in active forms of physical rest is also crucial.  Dr. Edlund’s 30-day plan provides a range of techniques for active physical rest, including breathing exercises, timed naps, baths, and yoga poses.

Mental Rest: While we need to rest the body, it’s equally important to learn to focus and concentrate the mind.  Mental rest involves reconfiguring one’s mind to quickly and easily obtain a sense of relaxed control, and Dr. Edlund has developed exercises—including self-hypnosis, relaxation, and visualization—designed to help maximize this process.

Social Rest: Humans are hardwired to be extremely social—social connectedness is built into the structure of our brains.  Studies show that people with strong social connections live longer, cope with stress better, and are healthier.  The Power of Rest explains how to incorporate key social rest techniques into your life.

Spiritual Rest: Certain spiritual practices can provide a profound sense of rest, inner peace, connection, and self-healing, and scientific studies have demonstrated that meditation can actually change the structure of the brain over time.  Dr. Edlund provides exercises involving meditation, prayer and contemplation that bring renewal and a sense of well-being.

We wouldn’t expect our bodies to function without food and, Dr. Edlund argues, we shouldn’t expect to feel fully fueled and alert without rest. This step-by-step 30-day plan introduces one simple, no-cost technique each day—many of which can be accomplished in just a minute or two.  Readers will learn to make room in their lives for this basic biological need, and how to quickly create a healthier, more successful, more vital and relaxed life.

Matthew Edlund, M. D., M.O.H., is an award-winning expert on rest, body clocks, and sleep. Dr. Edlund’s work had been featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, Prevention, Shape, Redbook, Real Simple, More, PsychologyToday.com, and hundreds of other magazines, newspapers and websites.  He founded the West Coast Regional Sleep Disorders Center, and now runs both the Center for Circadian Medicine and the Gulf Coast Sleep Institute in Sarasota, Florida.  Visit http://www.therestdoctor.com/

To Purchase: The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone Is Not Enough. A 30-Day Plan to Reset Your Body

Congratulations to Michelle L.!  We hope it helps your whole family!