Takeaways from ‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker
I have had a few weeks to pour over my notes and highlights from the awesome book ‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker. This book had a ton of gems regarding our sleep, what it does for us, how we make it harder to get good sleep and most importantly some simple tips on improving our sleep. Below are my 10 favorite takeaways from my notes with page number in parentheses if you want some extra context.
1. There does not seem to be one major organ within the body, or process within the brain, that isn’t optimally enhanced by sleep and detrimentally impaired when we don’t get enough. (6)
2. Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day. (8)
3. The brain can never get back all the sleep it lost. (62)
4. Poor sleep is one of the most underappreciated factors contributing to cognitive and medical ill health in the elderly, including issues of diabetes, depression, chronic pain, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s. (101)
5. Sleep helps to improve athletic motor skills, maintain or improve performance variables, and decreases injury risk and post-performance sleep accelerates physical recovery from common inflammation, stimulates muscle repair, and helps restock cellular energy in the form of glucose and glycogen. (128-130)
6. The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. (164)
7. Inadequate sleep is the perfect recipe for obesity: greater calorie intake, lower calorie expenditure, but the encouraging news is that getting enough sleep will help you control body weight. (175-6)
8. The ideal wake-sleep balance is 16 hours of wakefulness with 7-9 hours of total sleep, on average. (264)
9. Constant light and controlled temperature, caffeine, alcohol, and ‘punching the time clock’ all impact our duration and quality of sleep. (265)
10. If struggling to sleep or get enough sleep, going to bed and waking up at the same times is the single most effective thing you can do to improve sleep. (293)
While these are my 10 favorites, the three bolded takeaways are absolutely crucial for me. There were so many things I learned from this book, and I highly recommend taking the time to read it all!
