Second Book Review: Good Reads in Biology

Book Review: Why We Sleep

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker is one of the only sources of information on the biology behind sleep. Considering that we spend one third of our lives sleeping, it is clear that this area of biology has been long neglected. In this book, Dr. Walker breaks down all of the the processes sleep is required for. He stresses the importance of adequate sleep and explains what makes in necessary and what happens when we don’t get enough of it.  The book makes it clear that this is an urgent issue costing the global economy trillions of dollars a year. From misdiagnosis of ADHD to car crashes, Dr. Walker explains the physiology of sleep.

This book does a great job at trying to fill the gaps in our understanding of sleep. It emphasizes the importance of adequate sleep in daily life. Dr. Walker writes the book with the intent to convince the general population about how essential sleep is at all ages. He tries to scare you by presenting the dangers of sleep deprivation bluntly. Since the consequences of sleep deprivation are quite scary, the facts essentially did the job for him. In general, this book is great for basically anyone who can read. Sleep is so neglected in the modern age and everyone deserves to learn about exactly what they give up by cutting out an hour of sleep each night. 

In conclusion, this book is another must read for the general population if they care about improving their own health. Sleep research is a field that is in its infancy; the technology required to analyze brain activity is barely advanced enough to make specific conclusions. At the same time, there is plenty of evidence supporting the broad importance of sleep in society. In that sense, this book is wonderful at updating the general population on what we know about the subject at large. 

Overall, this book is easily a 9/10 on an impact scale. 

Here is an Amazon link (Audible/Hardcopy) to the book if you are interested in learning more.