Mapping the Darkness

July 1, 2023
An award-winning science writer takes us on a tour of the research into sleep. Although we are asleep for about a third of our lives, for much of human history, its mysteries lay undiscovered. It was only in the 1920s that systematic studies began, and for decades, it was only a marginal field. "Just a century ago," writes Miller, a contributing editor for Discover, "only a handful of scientists studied sleep--and not a single one did so full-​time." The author tracks the history with biographies of the key figures as they devised a series of experiments, which included two of the scientists living in a cave for a month to assess sleep patterns. Studies showed that 24 hours was the natural cycle for humans, although the rhythms of sleep and wakefulness are disrupted by work shifts and artificial lighting. The development of machines that could measure electrical activity in the brain revealed the various stages of sleep, including dream states, and helped researchers understand the connection between sleep disorders and other health problems. The Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986, which was traced partly to sleep deprivation in two engineers, sent researchers in a different direction. Within a few years, a lack of sleep was tied to low productivity, accidents, and near misses. Further study revealed that teenagers were often sleep-deprived, a finding that led to changes in school hours. "Despite decades of studies showing that adults need seven to nine hours for optimal health, large swaths of the world's population get less than the recommended minimum," writes Miller. Furthermore, "our growing attachment to digital devices makes it harder to disconnect from waking consciousness, and the blue light from screens throws our circadian clocks into confusion." Though the narrative is occasionally sluggish, the author provides an interesting examination of an issue that affects us all. Miller shows us how a good night's sleep came to be recognized as critical for health and development.

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Starred review from August 21, 2023
Journalist Miller’s eye-opening debut explores the lives and work of four researchers who pioneered the scientific understanding of sleep. He begins with Nathaniel Kleitman, the “patriarch” of sleep science, who fled Russian pogroms and landed in the U.S. in 1916 at age 20. He received a physiology PhD from the University of Chicago and afterward taught and conducted landmark studies there, including one in which he and five other people stayed awake for as long as 115 hours while their memory and concentration were tested, finding that “the sleep drive” fluctuated depending on what activities they were doing. The development of new technology for measuring brain activity helped Kleitman’s mentee Eugene Aserinsky discover that the “slumbering brain is as active as its waking counterpart.” William Dement, another Kleitman protégé, built on Aserinsky’s studies, discovering that the length of dreams match the duration of REM sleep and that sleep follows “distinct cycles of neural activity.” The biographical background humanizes the scientific history, and Miller excels at drawing out the real-world implications of the research, as when he discusses how Mary Carskadon’s discovery in the 1980s that teenagers need more sleep than younger kids led high schools across the U.S. to delay their start times. Readers will have no problem staying alert through this fascinating scientific history. Photos.

September 1, 2023
Sleep is mundane, mandatory, mysterious, and much more. Yet many people struggle with slumber. The CDC reports that 35 percent of Americans achieve fewer than seven hours of sleep per night. Work shifts, stress, schedules, and overstimulation are just a few factors that can affect the duration and quality of sleep. Miller chronicles a century of sleep research and the distinctive careers of the scientists who led the way forward. While many researchers get their deserved credit here, Miller spotlights four in particular--Nathaniel Kleitman, Eugene Aserinsky, William Dement, and Mary Carskadon. Some researchers went to great lengths (or depths) to elucidate the nature of sleep. One scientist lived 140 feet below ground (in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky) for 32 days. Sleep rhythms, melatonin, REM sleep, dreaming, the risk of using sleeping pills, chronobiology (biological clocks), and sleep deprivation are featured. Attention is given to sleep disorders, including insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea. Too little sleep can lead to errors and accidents. Our knowledge about sleep has surged, but researchers still have miles to go before they can rest.

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