books like ‘why we sleep’ by matthew walker are the reason i love nonfiction.
we have a leading expert in their field who shares insights and learnings from decades of research in an accessible way (read: plenty of explanatory metaphors).
on top of that, there’s a clear underlying message: somewhere along the past century, we—as a society—have stopped treating sleep right.
as in, we don’t get enough of it.
convinced this is due to a lack of understanding of sleep’s benefits, walker set out to put the record straight with this book. the expectation? once readers grasp just how crucial sleep is (hence the title), we’ll finally give it the attention and tlc it so desperately needs.
to make a long story short
sleep helps with everything. from physical to mental health, from feeling our best to doing our best, from merely surviving to actually thriving.
if that sentence made you curious about the why and the nitty-gritty of it all, this book is definitely for you. and it will rock. your. mind.
reading it left me with two distinct thoughts:
- anxiety. now that i know more about sleep, there’s even more to stress about. which i’m pretty sure is neither ironic nor helpful.
- i’m not sure it was intended this way, but ‘why we sleep’ reads as a sharp social critique. a critique of what we value and what we don’t: long-term healthy habits versus quick fixes (aka sleeping pills). resting and recharging versus burning out (i have to get this done, no matter what). how we feel in our own bodies versus how we want others—and ourselves—to see us (i don’t need sleep, sleep is for the weak). self-care versus the obligations of life we may or may not have chosen (i don’t have time, i’ll sleep when i’m dead).
frightening? yes.
but when you really think about it, also somehow empowering…
