Why We Sleep

Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

By: Matthew Walker

Narrated by: Steve West

The first sleep book by a leading scientific expert - Professor Matthew Walker, director of UC Berkeley's Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab - reveals his groundbreaking exploration of sleep, explaining how we can harness its transformative power to change our lives for the better.

Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity. 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 we don't sleep. Compared to the other basic drives in life - eating, drinking, and reproducing - the purpose of sleep remained elusive.

But an explosion of scientific discoveries in the last 20 years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. Among so many other things, within the brain, sleep enriches 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 mollifies painful memories and creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge to inspire creativity.

Walker answers important questions about sleep: How do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What really happens during REM sleep? Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us, and can they do long-term damage? Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and immensely accessible, Why We Sleep is the crucial account on sleep that will forever change listeners' minds on the subject.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2017 Matthew Walker (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Fantastic content, mechanical narrator

Walker's book is phenomenal despite a lot of what's said here being what should be called "common sense" at this point, but he drives the point home extremely well. One is forced to imagine how much better a place the world would be if we came to our senses as a species about how we sleep.

I simply didn't care for the narrator. Despite many passages where it's clear the author is being playful or joking, he never changes his machine-like reading style. Certainly non-fiction doesn't need the kind of flair and characters that fiction does, but one can do much better than this.

Wow. Life-changing!

I went into this book hoping to understand 2 main things: 1. The effect of caffeine on sleep, and 2. The effect of alcohol on sleep. The book brilliantly describes both, and in great clarity.

As a healthcare professional sometimes I'm weary about my approach to these books because I do not want them to be watered down. This one wasn't. However, at the same time, I think those with a medical background and even those without can both equally benefit and appreciate everything discussed in this book.

This book incredibly thorough and informative, it utilized and cited up to date research, also presented it all in a very well thought out format (you can pick and choose which chapters to read without consequence or attention to order; although I preferred to read it in order).

Ultimately I think the author really outdid himself with this one. I highly recommend this to everyone. *Not* just those looking to improve their sleep or learn about sleep, but literally, everyone. Sleep is health.

Loved learning about sleep

As a medical doctor myself, I must say that I was very impressed by the thorough citing of experimental data to strengthen points made about the deleterious effects that chronic sleep deprivation has on the body. I highly recommend this book.

Best book ever!!

One of the best self help/improving quality of life books I've ever read. Definitely recommended it.

One of the most valuable books read in the last 10 years

A well organized presentation of current neuroscience related to the importance of sleep. A book I am passing on to the important people in my life for improved physical and psychological health. Kudos to Dr. Walker!

Very good and mandatory read for this time

I was hesitant of getting this book since I knew sleep was already good and I was questioning myself what I will learn here... well the truth is I knew very little and this book is and eyes opener. Very good information based on research and not opinion. New information that is very pragmatic and easy to understand and use on life. I gave this book to a couple of friends and family because I think is mandatory these days to really understand that sleep is not a necessary evil but a great active thing to consider and exercise. Thank you to the author for doing this compilation and the research this have taken over many years

Fantastic!

A must for everyone, especially if you have teens. Exceptionally well written, easily understood. I'm changing my sleep habits immediately.

Eye opening

Absolutely loved this book and learned so much. I knew that sleep is important, I just had no idea how much really.
It all makes sense now. Highly recommend this book to everyone.

Must read

Great scientific book on why sleep is one of the key pillars of health and wellness

must read

For anyone wondering to listen to this book or not, the answer is yes, definitely. No matter which part of the society you represent the topics discussed in this book strongly relate to you and your life. It's very convincing and everything is covered by tons of scientific studies.