The Awesome Power of Sleep: How Sleep Super-Charges Your Teenage Brain

By Author / Illustrator

Nicola Morgan

Genre

Non Fiction

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Walker Books Ltd

ISBN

9781406395402

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

07-01-2021

Synopsis

The essential guide to sleep from award-winning teenage well-being expert Nicola Morgan, author of bestselling Blame My Brain, The Teenage Guide to Stress and The Teenage Guide to Friends.

Late nights, addictive technology and minds racing with exam stress and friendship worries: it's no wonder the teenage stereotype is tired eyes and sleeping through the weekend. Just like adults, teenagers are sleeping less now than ever before, yet sleep is crucial to our health and well-being. Internationally renowned expert on the teenage brain, Nicola Morgan, tackles this essential subject - asking why teenagers so desperately need a good night's sleep, exploring what a lack of sleep does to their developing brains, and explaining how to have the best sleep possible.

Authoritative, accessible and informed by the latest scientific evidence, Nicola Morgan writes a fascinating and helpful guide for both teenagers and adults alike.

Reviews

The Awesome Power Of Sleep is the latest book from teenage brain guru Nicola Morgan and explores the importance of sleep, the science of sleep and how to get good sleep especially focusing on teenagers. And it's excellent!

This book covers lots of topics around sleep and not just about how to develop good sleep habits or sleep hygiene. There is fascinating and interesting information and insight into what's going on inside the brain when you go to sleep, why sleep is important particularly for teenagers, common sleeping problems, sleep for learning and studying and more. The information focusing on teenagers and sleep was really quite insightful in highlighting what is happening inside the teen brain and looking at reasons and the science of why things are happening. There are also quizzes in the book to help teens or adults take stock of their sleep knowledge and routines. These could also be useful for parent - teen discussion points around sleep and also at school for introducing and discussing sleep issues with teens in PSE classes for example.

Nicola doesn't shy away from using the scientific names and concepts (e.g. NREM, sleep spindles, sleep latency) throughout the book, giving the vocabulary and detail for inquisitive minds to discuss and research further. I found the glossary at the back very useful for reminding myself what these were! And as I read the book I found Nicola's very personal style of writing (it felt like she was talking to me) made the book very accessible and enjoyable. For me I found the section looking at the impact of screens (TV, phone, Laptops etc) and light have on sleep very interesting and has helped me better understand the impact these can have on sleep. The practical suggestions on developing good sleep hygiene are achievable and will give teens things to think about and simple changes they can make to improve their sleep - if they are willing to try! And the strength of this book lies in the way Nicola gives you the advice but backs it up with explanation and evidence, but also highlights where evidence is lacking. The list of online resources at the back of the book is a useful addition for people wanting to find out more, with additional resources available on her website.

In the book Nicola says "The message of this whole book is that sleep is Important; that sometimes it's harder to achieve than it should be; and that there are lots of things we can do to improve our sleep." I couldn't agree more. There is something we can all learn about sleep and how to improve our sleep from this book whether teenager or adult. This is a great book, full of interesting and accessible information and I would recommend the book for readers 12+.

Have a good night's sleep!

192 pages / Reviewed by Stephen Leitch, school librarain