This books is amazing! Personally I think everyone should read Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams in order to understand how important sleep is - and this is coming from someone who hates sleeping!
This is quickly becoming my go to phrase for all reviews I write: this is not a proper review, it is hard to write one for this book. It's much easier and more important to read it!
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| ★★★★★ |
"Humans are not sleeping the way nature intended. The number of sleep bouts, the duration of sleep, and when sleep occurs has all been comprehensively distorted by modernity."
I knew a little bit about this book and honestly I stayed away from it because... I do not like sleeping. Then the more I thought about sleep the more I realized my dislike of it comes from not understanding why I need it. I knew sleep was good for us and beneficial, but did not understand how or why. Especially WHY! Enter Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.
The Research in This Books Is... Chef's Kiss!
I don't know how many years Walker studied sleep, because this book is big! But don't let that intimidate you, although it seems like a big stuffy book, the research is presented in an easy approachable way. And if you do not want to spend that much time with this book (although it's really worth it), then at least read chapters 13 and 14. They are life changing!
"Sleep is not the absence of wakefulness. It is far more than that."
The book is divided in more parts, which adds a logical structure and that is something I always like when it comes to non-fiction, focused on the evolution of sleep, the consequences of not sleeping, dreaming and sleep needs. It also doesn't repeat itself too much either - another thing that bothers me to non-fiction books.
This book should be a must read for everyone, although it might scare you because...
Everything Affects Your Sleep, Your Sleep Affects Everything!
And everything is talked about in this book!
From a history of sleep - how we used to sleep and what modern concoctions affected our sleep, from incandescent light to factories and alarm clocks. It talks about caffeine, alcohol, snoozing, room temperature, and everything damaging our sleep. You will learn a lot about something so basic we all do.
"the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. The leading causes of disease and death in developed nations—diseases that are crippling health-care systems, such as heart disease, obesity, dementia, diabetes, and cancer—all have recognized causal links to a lack of sleep."
What is the most terrifying is how devastating the lack of a good sleep has on our body, our memory, our creativity, immune system and more. It is worth mentioning though that the book received some criticism regarding the correlation between sleep and most things mentioned in the quote above. To be fair I did not read the articles but I will link them (article no 1, article no 2) and maybe read them in the future. I personally only took the idea that sleep affects our general well being, not necessarily that it leads to dementia.
It's simply fascinating!
Sleep is important, lack of it is dangerous. It is simple as that. While you may not fully believe in all the claims the book makes, it's still an important book to finally understand the importance of sleep. Plus, it has a lot of tips on how to get a better night's sleep. It may be easy to dismiss Walker's alarmist tone in the book, but it's even easier to go to bed early.
"When sleep is abundant, minds flourish. When it is deficient, they don't."
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker was first published in October 2017
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