Why We Sleep
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Health
Why We Sleep
Matthew Walker
Sleep isn't the thing I cut to get more done. It's the thing that makes the rest work.
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Lessons learned
01
Six hours is not enough.
Walker's data on what happens under seven hours is ugly: memory, reaction time, immune function, and judgment all slide, and I don't notice because the sliding brain is the one doing the judging.
02
Sleep is when learning gets saved.
Practice during the day and the brain files it at night. Skipping sleep after a hard training day throws away the training.
03
Caffeine has a half-life.
The afternoon coffee is still a quarter in my system at midnight. I moved my cutoff earlier and it fixed more than I expected.
04
Alcohol wrecks REM.
A nightcap feels like it helps and it doesn't. It knocks me out and then steals the back half of the night.
05
Keep the schedule.
Same bedtime and wake time, weekends included. The body treats inconsistency like jet lag.
Who should read it
Anyone who treats sleep as optional. I did, and this book is what made me stop.
