Why We Sleep

Not to be confused with Why We Nap.
Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams
First edition (UK)
AuthorMatthew Walker
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience book
Published3 October 2017
PublisherAllen Lane (UK), Scribner (US)
Pages368
ISBN978-0-241-26906-0 (Hardcover)

Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams (or simply known as Why We Sleep) is a 2017 popular science book about sleep written by Matthew Walker, an English scientist and the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in neuroscience and psychology. In the book, Walker discusses about the importance of sleeping, the side effects of failing to do so, and its impact on society.[1][2][3]

Walker spent four years writing the book, in which he asserts that sleep deprivation is linked to numerous fatal diseases, including dementia.[4][5]

Why We Sleep became a bestseller under The New York Times and The Sunday Times that discusses the topic of sleep from the viewpoint of neuroscience. The book has received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Walker's research and views on the science of sleep, while criticizing the book for its certain claims regarding sleep.[2]

  1. ^ Cooke, Rachel (2017-09-24). "The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life: the new sleep science". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  2. ^ a b Valtonen, Anu (2019). "Why We Sleep: The new science of sleep and dreams". Organization Studies. 40 (9): 1. doi:10.1177/0170840619831946. S2CID 150689987.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ O'Connell, Mark (2017-09-21). "Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker review – how more sleep can save your life". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  5. ^ "A 'catastrophic sleep-loss epidemic' is killing us, warns leading scientist". The Independent. 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2017-09-24.