Book Review: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, PhD

I’m going to start this by admitting that I am a little obsessed with sleep.  Probably because I find it very elusive.  I can’t really remember a time when I was a good sleeper.  I am most definitely not a morning person and even when I do get a full 7-9 hours of sleep you probably don’t want to talk to me for the first hour that I am awake or until after at least one cup of coffee.  I do see a sleep doctor. I have sleep apnea and a cpap machine. I sleep with my apple watch on so that I can track my sleep (on two different apps). I have also been prescribed with medicine to “help me sleep” but I’m fighting taking it because I really don’t want to be dependent on medication for a good night’s sleep.  So, I was fascinated with this book.  

Matthew Walker is professor of neuroscience and psychology.  He is also the director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at UC Berkley.  This book is the science behind why we need sleep, and it covers a lot of information. I am going to admit that I would probably need to read this book a few more times to really understand and remember everything that Walker discusses in this book and if I got eight hours of sleep after reading each section, I should remember it better (according to the findings in the book). When I was reading the first section, I was taking notes so I could put all sorts of great information in this review and after about 3 chapters I gave up on that.  I will try to hit some highlights here. 

This is a long book and not something that you would want to try to read over a weekend or on a beach vacation (trust me I tried). But it is broken down into manageable sections.  The author even states that you can read the book in any order that you would like or just read the sections that you are interested in. The book is divided into four sections. 

Part 1: This Thing Called Sleep

I found this part of the book very interesting.  In this section Walker explains the different stages of sleep, circadian rhythms, how sleep patterns change at different stages of our lives. This is the part of the book where he gives a shout out to “night owls”. He acknowledges that people who are night owls are often labeled as lazy, but he states, “…night owls are not night owls by choice. They are bound to a delayed schedule by unavoidable DNA hardwiring. It is not their conscious fault, but rather their genetic fate.”  And this is why you will not be seeing me at a 5 or 6 AM Fit Camp anytime soon.  Walker defines this part of the book as where he “demystifies sleep by explaining what it is and isn’t, how much sleep we need and how sleep affects your life span.  Everyone needs to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Also, you can’t make up for lost sleep by sleeping more another night.  Having a consistent bedtime and wake time is the best way to ensure you get enough sleep.

Part 2: Why Should You Sleep

In this section of the book Walker delves into sleep loss and its effects.  My takeaway from this section is that industrialized society is really to blame for people not understanding the importance of sleep.  School and work schedules do not allow for people to get an adequate 8 hours of sleep every night, especially for people who do not work a typical 9-5 job.  Luckily more research is being done and books like this are starting to help people understand the importance of sleep. 

Part 3: How and Why we Dream 

I have to admit that this was my least favorite section of the book.  Before reading the book, I thought this would be my favorite part but as Walker describes it, this is about “dreams from a scientific perspective” and there is a lot of science in this part.  One thing I found interesting here is that when you are in REM sleep your body goes into a kind of paralysis to keep your body from acting out your dreams. 

Part 4: From Sleeping Pills to Society Transformed

This section of the book is about sleep disorders and again about how society is starting to understand the importance of sleep.  In this section of the book Walker states that if you get a full 7-9 hours of sleep the week before getting a flu shot you will get more benefit from that immunization than if you get the shot after a few days after being sleep deprived.  Just something to keep in mind as we go into flu season. 

Walker points out several times in the book that he is a “Sleep Scientist” not a “Sleep Doctor” so this book does not give a lot of “prescriptions” on what you should do to get better sleep. It is much more about what sleep is and why sleep is important. Plus the benefits that come from getting proper sleep and there are a lot of benefits.  All of the information in the book has research to back it up and he goes into a lot of detail about the research.  He does end the book with an appendix of “12 Tips for Healthy Sleep”.  Of the 12 Tips, Walker states that a consistent sleep and wake time is the most important habit for sleep. 

This book was published in 2016, which really wasn’t that long ago but there are times in the book when you realize that some of the technology that Walker hopes we will have someday we already have.  He talks about using an alarm clock when you are trying to get into the habit of a consistent wake time but doesn’t have a good idea for a consistent bedtime.  I currently have a bedtime reminder set on my apple watch.  Every night at 9:45 my watch reminds me that my bedtime is 10:30 and I should start my bedtime routine.  Now I don’t always head that advice but I’m working on it.  Also, there are countless sleep apps that you can now use to help you track different aspects of your sleep that weren’t available when this book was written. Walker also is not in favor of any kind of sleep medication including sleeping pills and melatonin.  He does mention that he hopes that someday a medication that helps with sleep without side effects will be found.  I know there are some new sleep medications out there that say they do this. I’m going to have to look for some research before I believe it though. 

Basic takeaways from this book.  Everyone should try to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night with 8 hours being the optimum time.  If you do this, you will increase your life span and have better overall health.  

Happy Sleeping!