THE JOY OF SLEEPING ALONE

A self-help guide that blends neuroscience, mysticism, and psychology to argue that sleeping alone is the key to well-being for women.

 A self-described “ceremonialist,” Zak believes that sleep is a “spiritual practice” that fine-tunes intuition, harmonizes corporeal vibrations, and recalibrates women in body, mind, and spirit. In this book, she offers readers 64 sleep rituals, from “nocturnal feng shui” to “memento mori” to facilitate lucid dreaming, physical restoration, emotional clarity, and spiritual awakening. These small, soothing ceremonies combine mantras, breathwork, mindfulness, and visualization. For example, in a ritual the author calls “conquering the bed,” readers are advised to center themselves on their bed and “lie down as if your body were a four-pointed star with a glowing, beating center.” Then, they imagine themselves as a shining diamond and breathe diaphragmatically until they enter a “state of relaxation and creativity.” Throughout the book, Zak challenges societal norms around sleeping and steers women toward intuitive sleep practices. She also incorporates historical and cultural perspectives to illustrate how sleep habits have changed: from ancient times when “everyone slept together in a jumble,” to the Industrial Revolution’s role in shared marital beds, to modern-day arrangements in which over 60% of millennial and Gen-Z couples sleep separately (according to the National Sleep Foundation). Zak makes a persuasive case for sleeping alone as a radical act. She supports her thesis with both science (e.g., with an in-depth discussion of the five stages of sleep) and metaphysical concepts, like the three energy centers of the Chinese energy practice qigong. Zak’s bedtime rituals are simple and actionable, allowing readers to potentially experience more satisfying sleep with minimal effort. Her tone is warm and invitational in lines like, “This is a sacred space, yours alone; it is a haven where you don’t need to explain anything or justify yourself in any way.” However, claims like “Women who sleep alone are more intelligent and more independent” are not evidence-backed.

A fascinating New Age guide to “sleep divorce” that may be too metaphysical for some readers.