Why We Sleep

Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

By: Matthew Walker

Narrated by: Steve West

Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

The best book on sleep bar none

I absolutely hated this book for the first number of chapters. Both the narrator and the content (as applicable) seemed pretentious, dry, and lacking in anything of interest. However, it got so much better as I progressed through the book and eventually I came to view this as the best "sleep book" that I've ever read. I listen to a lot of podcasts on health, sleep and related content, and yet I learned a lot in this book that I never knew about sleep related issues.

I highly recommend that everyone read this book and I've purchased copies for many people that I know already. The content in this book can dramatically help improve the life of almost anyone.

Before this I was ignorant

As a scientist myself I loved listening to this. It has changed a lot of my habits around sleep. Also it's given me some hope for Alzheimer's which my grandmother had.

Before this book I was ignorant of the impact of sleep. During the course of reading it I've changed my habits and honestly feel a non placebo benifit

Awful awful awful narrator

This narrator should be banned from ever reading an audiobook again. I have listened to dozens (maybe hundreds) of audiobooks, and I’ve never felt so strongly about this. The content of the book is great.

Revolutionary

Absolutely pivotal information for leading a healthy life. I’ll be sending this to friends and listening to it again!

Should be mandatory!

Fabulous book and so informative so many things I've thought were other problems really were just one, and a few things leading up to it, a lack of sleep. I only wish knew these things earlier in life.

The tipping point for good sleep.

There is a lot here for the person who knows that sleep is important but doesn’t know why or how. This book inspired me to take a closer look at my sleep patterns and to make a plan to do something to improve. The author makes it clear that quality of sleep is just as important as how many hours we sleep and clearly highlights the common things we do to impair our sleep quality. Hopeful in the idea that better sleep can make the world a better place as it pushes for a culture change.

Extremely interesting and illuminating.

Everyone should read at least once. Best value for money. Build on could scientific evidence and yet very easy to understand. Recommended to all human beings interested in health and happiness.

Great book. Must to hear.

Great book, good structure, lots of examples, bit strange to refer to external pdf as reference, narrator engaged but not best for this reading.

Sooooo important. Love the wisdom in this book.

This book was really terrific because it gives concrete tips for everyone how to avoid bad behaviors and get more sleep

This book is so educational

This book has changed the way I eat, sleep, diet etc. It also made me write a dream journal. Who knew your brain is that busy during sleep