Book Review — Why We Sleep — Matthew Walker
Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Quick Summary
Why do we sleep? How do we get good sleep? How many hours of sleep do we need? Why is REM important? With this book, you will know everything about our sleep and how it affects our well-being.
You will also know why we dream, how are dreams created, how lucid dreams have been proven by science, etc…
The book was written by Matthew Walker, a professor/researcher in neuroscience and psychology specialized in sleep.
My Thoughts
The book was incredibly interesting. It answered many questions that everyone has about sleep.
The author puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of meeting a good sleep quota, and what the consequences of too little sleep are (spoiler: they are devastating).
“The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life span”
This situation may seem a bit brutal, but when you read the book you realize that it makes sense.
The part about dreams was also interesting, although a bit short, and I would have liked a bigger part about lucid dreams which were only mentioned in one or two pages.
Everything is supported by scientific experiments, let’s just say it doesn’t come out of anywhere and the author has some credibility. On the other hand, this makes the book sometimes a bit heavy because there are many experiments, anecdotes, etc… But it can please the most scientific readers.
There was also a part about society and how it does not promote sleep. The author did not only expose this fact but also tried to talk about some possible solutions to change society into something healthier.
In short, a rather scientific book, but terribly interesting once you dive in.
To Read or Not to Read?
I think everyone should read this book. We learn so much about ourselves. And it is not only a scientific book but it can be considered as a personal development book since it proposes keys to improve our well-being through sleep.
If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it.
To explore more of my book reviews, click here! You can also access all my content by checking this page.
If you liked the story, don’t forget to clap, comment, and maybe follow me if you want to explore more of my content :)
You can also subscribe to me via email to be notified every time I publish a new story, just click here!
If you’re not subscribed to Medium yet and wish to support me or get access to all my stories, you can use my link:
