1999-03-02

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

This book summarizes the major theories and findings on sleep function and pathology from antiquity to 1962. It contains over 4,300 references. The author and his graduate student, Eugene Aserinsky, discovered the state of REM sleep in 1953. Kleitman did some of the first studies of 24 hour (circadian) rhythms in humans, using the isolated confines of Mammoth cave as his laboratory. All current work in sleep and sleep disorders has Kleitman's book as its foundation. This book is "a must" for all those with a serious interest in sleep function and sleep disorders. Kleitman is now (1999) 104 years old.