The Book Review: Mapping The Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked The Mysteries Of Sleep

Almost everyone on this planet harbours a great orientation towards sleep and such has now been proved to be the cornerstone of our well-being. 

The book features many scientists and their observations about sleep stages and other nuances such as body clock, dreaming state and inadequate sleep.

The past centuries have been marked with a complete ignorance of sleep. Aristotle perceived this as a fallout of vapour that billows from the stomach to the higher organ heart.  

But then, the Industrial Revolution renewed the public interest towards a conscious study of sleep and its influence on our industrious human body.  

Furthermore, when people disconnected from the natural cycles of dawn and nightfall, artificial lighting gave rise to a new issue: sleeplessness.

Kenneth Miller’s highly praised book Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who 

Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep tells the tale of trailblazers who discovered everything from the dreaming mind to sleep deficits, from the body clock to sleep stages. 

Let’s explore the book below:

1930s:

A scientist stood tall in research, named Nathaniel Klietman as he made a conscious analysis of sleep’s rhythms and its direct impact upon other processes and also how our wake-hour actions and reactions shape our sleep quality. 

For a clear observation, scientists experimented on pet cats, and babies and also involved other associates and even subjected their minds to this. 

The tests were largely eccentric and once they even headed to a cave and remained there for 32 days the secluded place was devoid of any sunshine and warmth. 

They simply wanted to study its impact on the human body. 

Hans Berger designed electroencephalograms (EEGs) where he tied electrodes to the scalp to simply record the brain wave activity. 

Eye-ball Movement Studied:

Next comes Genes Aserinksy, who took notice of eyeball movements and discovered that just before breaking away from the sleep, (say 20 minutes) these usually cease to move.

The phenomenon is called rapid eye movement (REM) which is related to vivid dream recollection.

Interestingly, such studies inflated the psychological study of other learned minds of the time, such as Freud, Carl Rogers etc. and their theories of dreaming mind and subconscious gained empirical momentum. 

Sleep Disorders And Antidotes:

Dreadfully, the doctors feel no qualms in relating disorders like narcolepsy, nocturnal myoclonus, daytime drowsiness etc with sleep disorders.

Scientists and pharmacists are unrelenting on the medications side too as they identify different sleep needs from teens to adults and those with illnesses and post-surgeries need deeper sleep to help their body rebuild easily.

Talking about the disruptions, digital devices such as blue lights and even changes in work shifts matter. 

What Comforts A Good Sleep?    

Simply the Steady workout. 

What’s Not:

• Strenuous or occasional exercise.
• Alcohol calms the mind but such sleep is fragmented. 
• Caffeine is a major enemy of sleep. 

When we wake up in the middle of the night, disappointment and negativity loom as we are unable to get to sleep quickly. It is advised to indulge in something so the brain gets busy and gradually it will drift into sleep, on being tired. 

Sleep Awakes Its Own Economy: 

This includes gadgets, apps, meds, diagnostics, consultations etc, and the bar is expected to reach $585 billion by the end of this year, on a global scale.

Sleep As Required By Mind And Body:

Spending more time in bed won’t result in deeper sleep; instead, sleep only as much as is necessary to feel rested. 

Time-synchronized waking enhances circadian rhythms and promotes regular sleep onset. 

Treating the full circle of insomnia—mind, body, and behaviour—is the most effective method to manage the condition. 

The book illustrates that sleep and its therapeutic mysteries are far from understood, but at least we are aware of the need for regular sleep. 

Although not everyone needs the recommended eight hours of sleep, Kleitman pointed out that getting enough sleep is a pleasure that improves safety and brightness in the world.