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Cover of Why We Sleep by Matthew P. Walker

Why We Sleep

Matthew P. Walker

  • 360 pages · about 6 hours
  • First published 2017
  • 11 editions
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1 About this book

Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams, published in 2017, is a popular science book by Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. It has four parts: how sleep works, what it does for us, why we dream, and how modern society handles sleep. Walker argues that sleep supports learning, memory, emotional balance and health, and that too little of it is linked to serious disease. Other academics have criticized the book for making some broad or unfounded claims.

  • Science
  • Life Sciences
  • Psychology
  • Mental health
  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Health & fitness
  • Dreams
  • Physiological aspects

2 What to expect

A neuroscientist's popular account of what sleep and dreams do and what happens when we get too little. It is clear and persuasive, moving from how sleep works to memory, health, dreaming and the habits of modern life. The tone is urgent and sometimes alarming, and academics have criticized it for stating some claims more strongly than the research supports.

Good for readers who want: the science of sleep, health and the brain, and readable popular science.

3 About Matthew P. Walker

 

Dr. Walker earned his degree in neuroscience from Nottingham University, UK, and his PhD in neurophysiology from the Medical Research Council, London, UK. He subsequently became a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, USA. Currently, he is Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science.

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