| Title: | Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams |
| Author: | Matthew Walker |
| Year: | 2018 |
| Importance: | 5/5 |
| Accessibility: | 4.5/5 |
| Recommended: | 5/5 |
This is undoubtedly another book that everyone should read. Walker puts across a strong, evidence-based case for every adult to get their 7-9 hours’ sleep, every single night.
Blowing myths out of the water, such as the notion of being able to repay ‘sleep debts’ and allowing ourselves weekend lay-ins, this book makes us totally rethink our relationship with that other halves of our lives: sleep.
And it makes it impossible to ignore the case for getting enough sleep. The problems associated with not getting enough are truly tragic. If scientists could package up the positive benefits of 8 hours’ natural sleep per night and sell it in a pill, it would be the most miraculous drug ever sold. But it’s right there for the taking, every night, and still we deprive ourselves of it.
Whilst a must-read for everyone, this is especially fascinating if you struggle with sleep issues related to complex trauma. It might give you some reasons into your struggles, insights you never knew, and facts to discuss with your family & friends to help them prioritise their sleep, too.
It also makes you think about wider mental health issues: with insomnia producing symptoms similar to those diagnosed as schizophrenia, could curing trauma-related sleep issues also be at the bottom of many other mental health ‘illnesses’ professionals say we have? A controversial thought for some – let’s see how my brain processes that further whilst I sleep tonight!
Have you read this book too? Share your thoughts in the comments below.