Why We Sleep

Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

Paperback, 368 pages

Published June 19, 2018 by Scribner.

ISBN:
978-1-5011-4432-5
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4 stars (3 reviews)

With two appearances on CBS This Morning and Fresh Air's most popular interview of 2017, Matthew Walker has made abundantly clear that sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when it is absent. Compared to the other basic drives in life—eating, drinking, and reproducing—the purpose of sleep remains more elusive.

Within the brain, sleep enriches a diversity of functions, including our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge, inspiring creativity.

In this “compelling and utterly convincing” (The Sunday Times) book, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert …

5 editions

Solid Science Communication, but Not Very Compelling

3 stars

Matthew Walker's discussion on Peter Attia's podcast (The Drive, Episodes 47 - 49) is one of the most interesting things I've ever heard. At six hours long, I was sad when it ended and immediately wanted to listen to it again. If you've any interest in sleep, I highly recommend you check it out immediately.

I picked up this book after hearing that podcast, and the book just isn't on the same level as those interviews. It's an entirely serviceable piece of science communication, but that's about it.

The text is a high level synopsis of key pieces of research and related anecdotes. It's interesting enough, but it just isn't very engaging. Dr. Walker does go through practical recommendations on how to get better sleep, but the focus is really on explaining what sleep is and isn't.

If you don't know much about sleep, and are looking for an overview …