This was quite interesting. I cannot believe how our sleep (or lack thereof) affects our WHOLE life. Just wow.

After finishing this, I started paying a lot more attention to my sleeping hours, and I've been trying to increase that amount since.

Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity.

Matthew Walker is Director of UC Berkeley's Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab and so is ideally placed to write a scientific book unlocking many of the mysteries of sleep and dreams. Also, this book is very readable for anyone with a non-expert interest, with a wealth of facts – who knew you can die from lack of sleep? Not from accidents due to tiredness, but purely from the lack of sleep itself!

The book is divided into four sections, the first looking at what sleep is, its characteristics and the things in our third world society which interfere with normal patterns.

Section two questions why we need to sleep at all and looks at how it has been understood in the past (Shakespeare's Hamlet) and the very physical effects that sleep deprivation has on our bodies.

Section three turns to how we sleep and why we dream, and section four proposes action we can take to transform sleeping habits and practices in our society.

Sleep or lack of it seems to have become a major focus in recent years; whether like Margaret Thatcher, you can function on a minimal four hours a night, or conversely, like teenagers who find it perfectly possible to sleep for ten hours or more. Most of us probably complain about not sleeping, feeling tired when we wake up, being unable to fall asleep in the first place, or sleeping soundly for several hours but then waking in the small hours and being unable to go back to sleep.

There is any number of 'common sense' reasons for these problems, but this is the first scientific study in any depth and looks not only at how our lifestyles mitigate against a good night's sleep but also, the physiology which plays a major part.

I found it fascinating and it will become one of my 'go to' books for running my U3A psychology groups.

Pashtpaws


Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

A 4 & 1/2 thoroughly excellent read. Anyone who has or knows someone who has problems sleeping should read this book. And if that reasoning doesn't apply to you, go ahead and read it anyway, because something in this book will. The information contained in Why We Sleep is beyond purely educational. With the kind of knowledge that's not only helpful to the sleep deprived, but that will prove to be advantageous to all of us, because seriously, everyone of us has to sleep. Therefore knowing and understanding the myriad reasons that sum up all of the what for and whys behind our indispensable need to sleep, will not only be enlightening, but will enhance your way of thinking. With all that being said there's just one more thing needed to wrap up this review. This is not a dull, boring, trudge through to the end kind of book. Its quite interesting, enjoyable even. And definitely gratifying when finish the last page and realize how much you just learned.

Recently, I have been working on a Health Advocacy project with Sophomore Kinetic Wellness Health classes and I was looking at several related and newly published books.

We began the project talking about sleep and its importance, especially for teens. In fact, we watched a TedTalk by Russell Foster and developed some amazing posters related to sleep. Both that talk and the newly published WHY WE SLEEP by Matthew Walker delve into some rather technical aspects of sleep and point out how complex and important it is. Walker, for example, notes that "sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions." In a chapter devoted to "What's stopping you from sleeping," Walker cites a number of factors, including light (both electric and LED), more regulated temperatures, caffeine, alcohol, and industrial era work schedules. Reading this (sometimes scary) book has made me more conscious of my own sleep patterns. WHY WE SLEEP is full of details and statistics, although I do wish it was written a bit more simply so as to be more engaging for our students. Library Journal gave it a starred review, calling it "of particular interest to [adults, specifically] business owners, educators, parents, and government officials, and anyone who has ever suffered from a poor night's sleep."

I require a great deal of sleep; fewer than 9 hours and I'm a mess. Apparently, I sleep like a brown bat (the animal with the most hours devoted to sleeping). I've been interested in sleep since conducting a sleep lap on my friends' sister during AP psychology and this book hit the spot. Many people rely on melatonin to stay asleep, but did you know that melatonin only initiates the sleep cycle and has nothing to do with the ability to stay asleep? Ever sleep lightly the first night in a hotel? Did you know that is likely due to half your brain being in a lighter sleep than the other half due to your unfamiliar surroundings? Dolphins and other aquatic animals routinely rotate which part of their brain sleeps in order to continue swimming while sleeping. I also found the section on sleep in utero incredibly fascinating. Summary- if you are at all interested in sleep and the countless health benefits of a good night's rest, read this book!

This is an important book for those of us aiming to improve our health and quality of life. And who isn't? At last, here is the scientific proof that sleeping for only three or four hours a night is not clever and not something of which to be proud. Sleep deprivation can lead to Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, and is associated with a vulnerability to cancer and diabetes amongst other conditions. As the author points out, "mother knows best" and what is good for us as babies and children in terms of good sleeping patterns holds true as we age. I have been amazed how quickly I began to feel more alert and energetic after a few nights going to bed earlier and sleeping for nearer eight hours than six. A very helpful and interesting book.

The Shorter Your Sleep, The Shorter Your Life Span

In WHY WE SLEEP, author Matthew Walker, Director of UC Berkeley’s Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab explains the urgency of getting proper sleep. Getting proper sleep yields a “constellation of nighttime benefits.”

Conversely, not getting enough sleep has devastating results. For example, insufficient sleep wrecks our immune system and doubles the risk of cancer. Of all the scary consequences Dr. Walker mentions, this one scares me the most: “Insufficient sleep is a key lifestyle factor determining whether or not you will develop Alzheimer’s disease.”

The author devotes much space to explaining WHY so many people have trouble sleeping. One big reason is that the practice of modern society tends to wreck our sleep. Dr. Walker mentions 5 things in particular:

1) Constant electric light;
2) Regularized temperature;
3) Caffeine;
4) Alcohol, and
5) A legacy of punching timecards.

I was especially dismayed to hear that even moderate alcohol interferes with our natural sleep. “Nightly alcohol will disrupt your sleep, and the annoying advice of abstinence is the best, and most honest, I can offer.”

A big chapter is devoted to explaining how sleeping pills work (or don’t work, as the author explains) About 10 million people in the U.S. use some kind of a sleeping aid, but the benefit is not what is advertised. Amazingly, sleeping aids don’t actually improve sleep: “Sleeping pills help you forget how poorly you are sleeping, rather than actually improving your sleep.”

Another scary warning: Many studies show a “much increased mortality in those who use sleeping pills.”

Instead of drugs or sleep aids, the author recommends “cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia,” or CBT-I. Instead of taking pills, the patient works with therapist using proven techniques to break bad sleep habits. “CBT-I is more effective than sleeping pills in addressing numerous problematic aspects of sleep for insomnia sufferers.”

The very last part of the book contains some serious suggestions. One in particular stands out. The author argues for making the school day start later. This time would better fit our natural sleep pattern. The author cites one study showing substantial improvement in SAT scores when the school day started 1 hour later.

So all in all, I found WHY WE SLEEP to be an outstanding book. The author writes well, and the book is easy to follow. The author also has the credentials to back up his claims, and often cites studies to support his statements. Dr. Walker cites lots of worrisome statistics, but balances it out by giving practical suggestions on how to improve our sleep.

The author has one key suggestion: “Going to bed and waking up at the same time of day no matter what. It is perhaps the single most effective way of helping improve your sleep.”

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

I love factual, science based books on the human body; also in the healthcare system as a nurse , so this book spoke volumes to me, no pun intended.
Sleep is fascinating and so are dreams and the theories behind those. From working in the hospital, the floors are not the best place for those who are ill trying to get better. I would love for this author and those in the field to explore sleep quality in the hospital with different environments and have recommendations for the healthcare system.
I will most likely be purchasing this book and rereading it and suggesting it in the future!

In the beginning, the author made claims that seemed to have no medically researched background, such as, "Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer," and "A lack of sleep can kill you outright." I was worried the whole book would be written like this, that the author would expect me to believe his claims without evidence, but it was only the first chapter that left me skeptical. The rest of the book was actually well organized, and Walker's claims were backed up by the results of decades worth of research and studies. I slowly became impressed at the amount of evidence that went into each chapter of this book.

Why We Sleep is written in a witty and light banter that's easy to understand and engage with. It was such a relief to read a nonfiction book that actually feels like the author was telling me a story instead of quoting a textbook. Matthew Walker uses many analogies to explain concepts that may be difficult to the average reader (like me) who is not familiar with the scientific and medical terminology. For the most part, the explanations are easy to understand and enjoyable to read about.

There were a few parts that became mundane and started sounding like a university essay. One example was when the author started talking about biological concepts involving the evolution of sleep in different species of animals since the beginning of time. I think that part was too technical and unnecessarily long for this book. Other than those few parts, this book was a pleasurable and highly informative read.

This book talks about not only why we sleep (as the name suggests), but also the effects of different amounts of sleep on a person, and especially how a lack of sleep can affect someone over time. I learned about the problems of mixing caffeine and technology with sleep, what sleeping pills actually do for you, how the brain functions while sleeping, how sleep revives our minds, and everything I ever wanted to know about dreams. I honestly was shocked to learn just how important sleep is for every aspect of our well-being, and I will definitely be making a better effort to get at least eight hours of sleep every night after reading this book. As Walker says, "That humans can never 'sleep back' that which we have previously lost is one of the most important take-homes of this book."

Great insights on sleep. It was complex but not too complex that it couldn't be understood by the average reader.

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker is an incredible read. I found this book to be very informative with lots of information that was easy to read and understand. This book will answer many of the sleep questions you always wondered about by never knew the answers to.