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Solace for the Sleepy

By Will Michaels

Review of Why We Sleep By Matthew Walker

June 27, 2021

Some of the most interesting books I have read have been about seemingly mundane things. Why We Sleep is certainly such a book. I didn't read Why We Sleep out of interest in the topic but because I simply didn't have anything else to read at the time. It was a well reviewed book about a subject new to me, so I thought I would give it a shot. Why We Sleep ended up being truly impactful for me. It changed the way I view my habits and allowed me to change my behavior in a positive way.

One part of Why We Sleep that stood out to me was the discussion of how sleep has the ability to prevent illness and repair many parts of the body. This was intriguing to me because before reading Why We Sleep I believed that if I didn't have a headache or feel sick when I woke up, I had gotten enough sleep. The fact that sleep can have long term impacts on health was surprising and changed how I viewed rest.

Another chapter I found interesting was entitled 'Too Extreme for the Guiness Book of World Records'. This chapter described the extent to which people, in the western world in particular, are sleep deprived. Due to busy schedules and inconvenient school and work hours, many people get between around 6 hours of sleep every night. While this might be considered a "normal" amount, it still has large impacts on health. Learning about the extent and severity of sleep deprivation piqued my interest because I had not heard much about it previously. Although somewhat unrelated, it is interesting to note that people have been sleeping more during the COVID pandemic, but this trend is unlikely to continue.

In sum, the best books are those that present the reader with new information that causes them to reevaluate their beliefs and possibly change their mind. For me, Why We Sleep did both of these things. It taught me that something as mundane and habitual as sleep is very important and should not be overlooked. It showed me that severe consequences are not always obvious and that forming new habits can have a huge impact.