Quick Review – Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker was one of my favorite books last year. A Wake up call to the importance of sleep. It was not just a phenomenal book but also triggered a lot of changes in my life. It’s 4:36 AM when writing this. I’m wide awake after a night messed up sleep. What better time to write about Why We Sleep?

This book is extremely comprehensive and will give you the full run down of how sleep is generated (absolutely fascinating!), dreams, why modernity promotes bad sleep and the terrible outcome of not getting enough sleep and, of course, the benefits of adequate shuteye.

Notes and Highlights from Why We Sleep

– “The shorter your sleep the shorter your life span.”
– Lack of sleep makes you a baby: I don’t take myself serious when I’m sleepy. Feelings go haywire, I worries unnecessary, my food choices sucks. I’ve learned to observe when this happen and try to get some sleep. I also avoid making any important decisions in this state.
– Most people don’t know how long it takes to overcome a single dose of caffeine. Therefore a lot of people fail to link bad sleep with the cup of coffee they had 9 hours earlier. ☕️
– “If you don’t sleep the very first night after learning you lose the chance to consolidate those memories; even if you get a lot of catch-up sleep thereafter.” Sleep for memory consolidation is an all-or-nothing event!

Video: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker – Book Review

9 Reasons for 8 hours of sleep:

– Live longer.
– Enhances memory.
– Makes you more creative.
– Makes you look more attractive.
– Keeps you slim and lowers food cravings.
– It protects you from cancer and dementia.
– It walls of colds & the flue.
– It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke and diabetes.
– You’ll feel happier and less depressed and less anxious.

Implementing Why We Sleep – My Actions:

No coffee after 1 PM. ☕️
Increasing my daily sleep from 7h to at least 7.5h (8h would be ideal but I’m not sure it’s feasible for me atm.)
Adjust time for mediation to early afternoon to avoid nodding off. Then the Circadian rythm is at its peak and Sleep Pressure should be low.

Book Verdict:

Why We Sleep is not a fun reading per se; it can get quite technical and it’s quite terrifying, but it’s close to impossible not to change you lifestyle after reading it. I don’t think I have said this since reading Influence by Chaldini: This should be mandatory reading!