Why We Sleep

I used to pull an all-nighter all the time: studying, working, etc. And then I always wondered why I didn't have the energy throughout the day to accomplish anything. And then I felt sick (very sick that I was hospitalised). The event changed my perspective on caring more about my own body. The first lesson I learned was to regulate my sleep routine (followed some advice from this book and related podcasts also by Matthew Walker). I determined to sleep at least 7 hours a day, and an additional nap at noon if possible. I've been going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day (there are some unavoidable exceptions but they are minors). I limit my phone and tablet usage before bedtime and read physical books as much as possible. After one to two years, I generally feel better. Farewell lack of energy in the morning and tired of the night of disrupted sleep. I don't have a running nose and the number of catching a common cold is significantly lower.

I don't want to brag but it's one of the best habits I adapted to my life. Trust me you don't need an all-nighter, you need to regulate your life and have a good night sleep. As in Hávámál:

"The unwise man is awake all night,
and ponders everything over;
when morning comes he is weary in mind,
and all is a burden as ever. "

Some chapters are quite heavy in theory and examples (that you may consider boring and skip) but make sure to read all the benefits and how to prepare for a peaceful sleep at night. Buonanotte everyone.

The politically incorrect advice I would (of course never) give is this: go to the pub for a drink
in the morning.

This books is a revelation. It describes in a vivid way what happens when we don't get enough sleep(it's worse than I imagined in my wildest dreams). Lack of sleep disrupts learning, memoryformation, compromises immune system and contributes to various ailments. It even diminishesvaccination efficacy which should have been something that I would have been useful for vaccinationplanning for Covid-19 I would hope. And it does not take much to reach the "lack of sleep" stage.We as human society have completely self-sabotaged our ability to sleep properly. Lighting(especially LED), early morning work and school schedules, keeping our bedrooms too warm andmore...I will note that while Mr. Walker does often point out unfinished or unclear science it's not alwaysclear. Certainly take some things with a grain of salt and careful scepticism. But even if only halfof the things is true, I'd want to sleep properly to avoid the damage. What's the downside?Congratulations Mr. Walker, you have a convert for your sleep revolution. I will look for ways tomake my sleep better going forward.

This book is revelatory.

Walker presents a thoroughly-researched paean to sleep and its numerous benefits. He also makes an equally strong case for the risks and costs of skimping, lays out how chemically-induced unconsciousness from sleeping pills is different and distinct from natural sleep, and provides helpful advice for getting more and better slumber.

As an introvert, I've long been in the habit of occasionally staying up late to have some time to myself after an interaction-intensive day. I am now convinced that is neither an effective way to meet that need, as the lack of sleep contributes more to irritability and lack of patience than does the over-socialization that caused it originally, nor a good decision for my own health, given the spike in heart diseases, cancers, etc. that occur in the underslept population.

I'd recommend this to anybody with even passing interest in the topic. And I might be tempted to force it upon anyone who sleeps less than 7 hours a night.

Edit: Recently, I came across an article quite critical of the facts presented in this book, which came as a shock to me. Here's the link to the article - Why We Sleep is riddled with scientific and factual errors . While this severely damages the reputation of the book, my stance remains unchanged - that sleep is of utmost importance in our lives and we really do need to give it prominence.

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Original Review:

An exceptional book that is also a cautionary tale for our society. In our productivity-obsessed twenty-first century, sleep usually takes the backseat in our race to get more done with our limited time. I myself have been guilty of that, on multiple occasions - trying to fit all the things that I want to do in a day and consequently ignoring this wonderful remedy to all my problems. We have idolized people who seem to achieve extraordinary things on less than an optimal amount of sleep for far too long.

We need to pull ourselves back from the race, slow down, and get a good night's sleep. As it turns out and quite contrary to the popular belief - the more sleep you get, the more productive you are.

PS: For anyone wondering about the optimal duration of sleep, eight hours really is the recommended time - which includes the time you take to drift off to sleep (normally 10-15 mins), five cycles consisting of NREM and REM sleep of 90 mins each, and the time you take to get fully conscious after waking up (another 10 mins).