Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker. Matthew is a British scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Previously, Matthew was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Matthew is the director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Human Sleep Science. His research focuses on the impact of sleep on human health and disease.
I found this to be a very insightful book and it has sharpened how I view my own sleep requirements. It would not be odd to say that many of us have in our younger years pulled all-nighters on a regular basis. We had not idea how damaging this would be in our later life. In fact, I can recall this in some detail over the beginning of my career. In fact, I would say the American culture is shaped around this type of sleep loss.
Matthew has the data to prove that our culture has in fact, robbed our health. In addition, for anyone with medical conditions may in fact be at greater risk due to the lack of sleep impacting their health. Too many Americans do not yet quite understand the severe ramifications. This book will enlighten them and easily demonstrate how powerful eight hours of sleep can shape your life.
The lack of sleep can shorten your life
For many readers perhaps this is the first time they can understand the impacts of neglecting sleep. Shortcomings in our brain functionality is easily at less than 100%. In addition, our body’s physical and mental health including our emotional well being suffers.
Less than 7 hours ?
Actually the new data Matthew shared regarding the health impacts from diabetes to alzheimer’s diseases can be a quite stunning revelation. And yet how many of us have ever discussed in depth the impact of getting less than seven hours sleep with our doctors? Upon reflection, before a sporting event or business presentation how much did you get the night before? Do you recall not being at 100% during your event?
As a result, the decimation of sleep throughout industrialized nations is having a catastrophic impact on our health, our life expectancy, our safety, our productivity, and the education of our children.
pg 790.
This book will firmly put to rest the need for at least seven hours minimum. The data is solid and this is perhaps the key elements of Matthew’s book. Perhaps the only missing element was the use of sound or music to assist you in falling asleep. Matthew dives even deeper into the role of sleep to combat brain deterioration and fighting infections.
Dr. Thomas Roth at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, who once said, “The number of people who can survive on five hours of sleep or less without any impairment, expressed as a percent of the population, and rounded to a whole number, is zero.
pg. 340
There are several ideas that have also been addressed to help you fall asleep including the removal of LED lighting in your bedroom and using electronic devices which omit blue light that prevents you from sleeping. In fact, alcohol will degrade rapid eye movement sleep. In fact, there is a larger impact: drowsy driving:
This coming week, more than 2 million people in the US will fall asleep while driving their motor vehicle. That’s more than 250,000 every day, with more such events during the week than weekends for obvious reasons. More than 56 million Americans admit to struggling to stay awake at the wheel of a car each month. As a result, 1.2 million accidents are caused by sleepiness each year in the United States.
Said another way: for every thirty seconds you’ve been reading this book, there has been a car accident somewhere in the US caused by sleeplessness. It is more than probable that someone has lost their life in a fatigue-related car accident during the time you have been reading this chapter.
pgs. 327-328
Matthew demonstrates how taking a nap prior to 3:00pm in your timezone can be very beneficial to increasing your focus, creativity, and providing benefits to your physical and mental health. I found this also a key element in the book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. Another miss for American culture is the simple act of properly breathing. I would also include another wonderful book The Leading Brain: Neuroscience Hacks to Work Smarter, Better, Happier. Sleep contributes to better outcomes in both books.
Yes it is infact okay to nap
Matthew demonstrates how taking a nap prior to 3:00pm in your timezone can be very beneficial to increasing your focus, creativity, and providing benefits to your physical and mental health.
In conclusion, Why We Sleep is one of the more powerful books I have read and is a perfect fit for outstanding books in my 2023 reading collection. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor and read Matthew’s book.