Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Ratings255
Average rating4.3
There is some controversy around this book surrounding the misinformation - but much of it is harmless, just leaps that Walker took for research. Such as his suggestion that lack of sleep causes cancer - which there is no evidence for that (but the point is that it is bad for your health).
But as an OT student, I knew most of the information already. There was very little new information, except at the end with anecdotes, and perhaps the political messages at the end calling for work reform. It is well written enough that the familiar information is enjoyable to read again, but this book does not go deep enough into the science for my liking. It talks more about the implications and results of the science of sleep rather than the neurological reasons. Too much theory for my liking.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I finished reading it and it makes you want to change many of your sleep habits, but at the same time I felt he may have overemphasized certain "facts." If you believe everything word for word it is scary...thus my mixed feelings. But incorporating many of his ideas are without a doubt a good thing.
For another point of view see: https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/
This book is – spoiler – about why we sleep and the importance of sleep. It starts with theories of why we sleep and dream (it is quite interesting that we still don't really know), how other animals sleep, why we need sleep, why we will surely die an early death if we don't sleep, why society is not set up to accommodate our sleep needs, and then, at the very end, literally 12 bullet points about how to improve your sleep.
I won't argue with the importance of sleep, nor that its importance is undervalued in capitalist hustle cultures. But I don't trust any author that claims one thing will radically change your health. Health is a complex myriad of things, only some of which are in our control.
For me, sleep often feels out of my control. Insomnia is barely addressed in this book, and when it is, it's treated flippantly. Just do some CBT and you'll be good!! The author makes it seem like it's so easy to just sleep more. Sleep does not, and probably never will, work that way for me. For over a decade I've sought the answer to consistent quality sleep. I've tried nearly everything (including CBT), and yet still go through periods of days and weeks (and in some very rough patches, months) where sleep eludes me. Despite all best efforts and having read a bunch of books like this. (Why do I keep reading books like this, you ask? In the dwindling hopes that one will eventually have the key to this particular misery.) I'm beginning to think that it's just genetically hard-wired, and like a chronic disease, all I can do is manage it.
If anything, this book should come slapped with a big warning for insomiacs – this book WILL make you panic if you put stock in its alarmist messaging, so maybe just don't!
This was a really interesting book full of tons of good advice and sleep data. I'll need to listen to it again to really milk it for all it's worth though.
There are so many interesting, yet disturbing, facts (all backed by reliable studies) throughout this book that I can't fit into a review without quoting the entire book. It is an absolute must read for everyone. And I mean everyone - parents, teens, CEOs, government officials, artists, anxiety driven people, people with adhd - everyone.
Two things that stuck with me the most is sleep's correlation with autism and the impact of early school start times on crucial adolescent brain development. Although evidence of linkages between sleep and autism is very limited, and mainly correlative, the book provides enough to suggest some correlation and therefore an early diagnosis.
The second, is school timings. The circadian rhythm for early teens runs a few hours behind those of adults, which is they tend to stay up later at night. However, the ridiculously early school start times in most schools in the US disrupt the completion of their sleep cycle causing them to lose their REM sleep, which is crucial in the brain development of teens, particularly the increase in our ability to “recognise and therefore successfully navigate the kaleidoscope of socio=emotional signals that are abundant in human culture”. This topic is one I'm most concerned about considering kids are the future of our society, and our society ain't looking so good right now. It's insane to me to think about what society could've looked like if schools just let kids sleep longer. Maybe there would be more empathy in the world, less violence, less prejudice.
In his last chapter, Walker goes through his vision for sleep on different levels of society: Individual, educational, organisational, government, societal. Each of these areas are so well thought out and thought provoking, by looking into how advancements in technology can serve and improve sleep
on an individual level, how machine learning algorithms can assess an individual's sleep patterns and quality and adjust smart home tech to provide them with the best conditions for optimal sleep.
He further goes to suggest that long term highly accurate sleep tracking can be used predictively to show individuals increasing risk of conditions like Alzheimer's or cancer if they continue sleeping too little.
Overall, this is an incredibly informative book, very well laid out, well though out, backed by lots of studies, yet very accessible. I wish he explored the relationship between trauma and sleep more but I understand that's a whole other field of study that probably can't fit into a chapter.
Its more focused on explaining WHY sleep is so important but doesn't really focus on how we help to fix it. So you're left feeling depressed that you're going to get dementia.
for sure gonna sleep more now
a bit too many anecdotes and length explanations of research studies, but i guess you have to fill up the book somehow
[Audiobook]
This started me on my yet another attempt to ‘fix' my sleep. Now that I understand it so much better, I feel a lot more optimistic.
I've also read stuff disputing some of the ‘facts' & research cited in the book & I encourage readers to not take everything in the book at face value, especially if it doesn't agree with your personal experiences.
As I was reading this, I was thinking to myself that this should be compulsory material for schools. Then the author hit upon that very point towards the end of the book. He talked about how school pupils surveyed responded that they had learned about sex, about nutrition, about general health and exercise but NOT about the importance of sleep.
I can see me buying this book for people as gifts. In fact, I'm going to do just that today for my wife. Then there will be a hardcopy round the house for me to dip into as well.
The Audible version is very well narrated: easy to follow and a pleasant voice to listen to.
12 Tips for Better Sleep from the Appendix:
1. Sleep schedule. Set a bedtime alarm.
2. Exercise not too late in the day.
3. Avoid caffeine and nicotine. It can take 8 hours for caffeine to leave your body.
4. Avoid alcohol before bed. It robs you of REM sleep.
5. Avoid large meals late at night.
6. Avoid medicines that delay your sleep.
7. Don't nap after 3pm.
8. Relax before bed.
9. Take a hot bath before bed to reduce your core temperature.
10. Dark bedroom, cool bedroom, gadget-free bedroom.
11. Get exposure to daylight through the day.
12. Don't lie in bed awake. Get up after having been awake for 20 minutes.
This should be required reading, or there should be some way to get this knowledge out to the masses so that we can collectively realize and accept the importance of sleep. It's not convenient but to deny it isn't helping anyone.
This is going to be more of just my thoughts than an actual review.
I read this at a unique time. I was approaching the end of my 3.5 month COVID-19 furlough and I had established a beautiful and fulfilling schedule of hobbies and habits. In order to maintain this healthy routine, I planned on waking up at 4 AM each work day and going to bed around 10 PM. This would allow for just six hours of sleep, and that would be if I fell asleep immediately and didn't awaken during the night, which is unrealistic.
I thought the decrease in sleep would be worth it to keep running, lifting weights, doing yoga, meditating, practicing piano, etc. as I had been during furlough. After all, these are good healthy things that are encouraged by experts. This book effectively sat me down and said, “Look. You're wrong. Here's why.”
The section about teenagers and school schedules was especially depressing. When I was in high school I stayed up late to complete assignments or IM my friends even though I had to wake up at 5:30 AM to get ready and get to the bus at 7:00 AM. I fell asleep in my classes. I fell asleep doing homework. I fell asleep hanging out with friends. I wonder what my life would've been like if I wasn't sleep deprived basically all the time and I really hope that things change by the time I have a teenager.
We really do need to stop looking down on people who prioritize sleep.
This was a reread and I loved it all over again the second time. This book is so essential to people and I have gifted it or recommended it to many since I first read it last year. It is a horrifying book, though, because of just how awful our sleep culture is right now. This book went up by 2k or so ratings just in the 9 days it took me to reread it, so I'm glad it's still being read by many. Together we can fix our horrible sleep culture!
Such an insightful and important read about a natural process that we so often underestimate!
A must read if you think that sleeping hours are “lost” hours
the irony of always reading this book when i couldn't fall asleep
summary: sleep is hella important, sleep 8 hours per day, sleeping pills are evil go to a therapist instead, a lot of ADHD is just sleep deprivation, let kids sleep in for christ sake and keep your room cool when sleeping
this book is at places wordier than needed but plenty of scientific info inside
This book has some very important facts on one of the most overlooked bodily functions ‘sleep'. Although the title is a bit misleading and some claims didn't have any proper references, the book itself is quite an info dense on how sleep affects us, how important it is to maintain proper sleep etiquette, and how broad the spectrum is on the effects of low-quality/high-quality sleep. His book essentially debunked most of the claims some people make on how sleep is a waste of time/sleep is for the weak. This book has its critics and I found this follow-up article about it which captured the whole fiasco https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2019/11/18/is-matthew-walkers-why-we-sleep-riddled-with-scientific-and-factual-errors/
3.75 stars/5 stars.
p.s- the last two chapters were unnecessary.
Soo good. An informative/research-based book. I've learned so much about sleep...fascinating.
I believe everyone interested in understanding why we sleep should be reading this book. It helped me change certain perspectives, and while I may still struggle getting enough sleep, at least I have a better understanding of it now and will be striving harder to improving the quality of my sleep.
I also really liked the writing as the author makes an effort in breaking down hard to understand facts into analogies or simpler language
probably the most important book for my health the coming decades.
now feeling like voluntarily not getting enough sleep is batshit crazy.
Buon libro che rende benissimo l'importanza del sonno su qualunque aspetto del metabolismo
