Have you ever wondered why humans, or all animals for that matter, need sleep? We understand why our bodies need to eat, drink and reproduce, but the question about sleep hasn’t been completely answered. We have often heard that sleep is important, and we must get 8hrs a night, but many of us don’t understand why. Sleep scientist and researcher, Matthew Walker uncovers the lifelong benefits of sleeping in his book ‘Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams’.
Firstly, it’s important to understand that our body sleeps in a circadian rhythm, which is our natural sleep cycle. Chemicals in your body indicate when to sleep, and assist in entering the different stages of sleep. One stage includes REM, which is a lighter sleep in which we dream, and the other NREM, which allows the body to repair itself after the day’s events.
Walker outlines the effects of sleep at different stages of life, from a fetus to old age. It’s intriguing to note that sleep affects development in different ways, and conversely genetic or age specific environmental factors can affect one’s sleep. The length or quality of an individual’s sleep is a major contributor linked to so many aspects of our health. Walker pointed out the links between poor sleep and concentration levels or emotions, and consequential mental and physical health issues. Through countless studies, Walker gives us an understanding of how sleep deprivation can be linked to these diseases.
As previously mentioned, dreams occur in the light REM sleep, and you may often wonder why we dream, or what they are. While modern experiments have indicated that dreaming is linked to our emotions, Walker also explained it’s potential for creativity through many interesting examples. Walker also describes the amazing or even scary possibility of one day reading an individual’s dreams. Scientists have already been able to prove that they can identify a specific object an individual may be dreaming about through MRI scans.
The natural method of sleeping involves signals being sent from the brain preparing us for sleep, including the reduction of heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, and lowering of the core body temperature. But there are many instances in which this does not happen, and Walker perfectly explains the associated sleeping disorders. But there are still several factors affecting a good night sleep, including blue light screens, alcohol, room temperature, and even an alarm clock. There is often the myth that missed sleep can be caught up on the weekends, but Walker stresses that a full 8hr sleep cycle must be followed through every night to receive the positive effects of sleep.
All of these issues affecting sleep are a call for change. Walker advocates for greater sleeping time amongst corporations, schools, and hospital staff to increase productivity, learning abilities and minimise errors. These changes are required from an individual level up to government, and Walker offers his ideas across all levels of society from the use of technology to sleep education.
‘Why We Sleep’ is a great book in the right direction towards educating people about the importance of sleep for a happier society. Walker does a great job at outlining the scientific facts with links to experiments and providing his theories to current situations. While this book is somewhat technical, Walker is thorough with his explanations. Hopefully after reading this book you will want to get a good night’s sleep.
Are you interested in learning more by reading this book?
Books for Thought 