Why We Sleep

I’ve been getting into self-optimization lately, and sleep has been a game-changer. Two books that really opened my eyes are Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker and Outlive by Peter Attia. Walker breaks down why sleep is so critical, while Attia ties it into the bigger picture of health and longevity. Also been exploring Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint Protocol.

reading Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art helped me more than Why We Sleep and other sleep books. I have sleep apnea and have tried many solutions, including mandibular devices. Putting on mouth tape to force myself to breath through my nose did the trick. No sleep doctor or sleep dentist ever mentioned this inexpensive solution to try.

Why We Sleep has some issues, but for a primer, it's a good intro. I read that before I got into working in the neurotech/sleeptech space. The Cambridge textbook The Neuroscience of Sleep and Dreams[1] I found surprisingly approachable. I've long had an interest in neuroscience, so it wasn't a completely new subject to me, but it wasn't a bad read. I'm a life-long insomniac, you didn't go into the details of your sleep problems, and I initially read Why We Sleep because I was trying to understand sleep and fix my own problem. Unfortunately, I it's still all the same CBT-I stuff, sleep hygiene, etc etc. We're not working in insomnia, I haven't found anything in the peer-reviewed literature which is convincing that anyone is near a solution in this space. [1](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/neuroscience-of-sleep-a... (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/neuroscience-of-sleep-and-dreams/B4E0F0EC7C52BF82B205E83E9CC30A59))

Try: https://shepherd.com/book/why-we-sleep (even though it is general it is still great imp). Or, this book by this scientist on sleep: https://shepherd.com/best-books/the-science-of-dreams It is heavily about dreams but touches on so much more.

Reading "Why we sleep" right now and enjoying it very much. It covers a lot of research, and Walker manages to tell a story and get you the bird's eye view of what the research means. Definitely recommend.

Why we sleep - Deep-dive in why we sleep and what to do to sleep better Born a crime - Follow Trevor Noah in his early life in South Africa.

It's still an interesting read even if you do sleep well. If nothing else it will help you have some empathy for people who struggle or just have a different pattern to yourself.

If you have good sleep habits you don't need to read the book. If you think of sleep as an annoyance or not worthwhile then I highly recommend it

"almost complete bullshit" is a bit strong. i've read both the book and the Guzey piece and i think the most substantial insight in his rebuttal is that oversleeping can increase mortality risk, otherwise it seems like a lot of “he cited this wrong” or <nasally-voice>well technically…</nasally-voice>. most of the broader themes in walkers book still stand.

Why We Sleep

Why We Sleep is really good. It really changed my view on sleep.

If you don't sleep 8+ hours every night: Matthew Walker - Why We Sleep

Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind [1] Not just about an utterly fascinating topic (psychadelic drugs), in terms of history (LSD turning from a scientific wonder drug to illegal), his personal experiences, and the neuroscience behind it, but also just extremely well-written -- a real page-turner. A crazy potent combination of science, spirituality (from a skeptic), and narrative. I expect his book will be a significant part of why psychadelic drugs will be legalized in the near future specifically for therapeutic purposes. Also +1 for 2017's Why We Sleep [2]. After reading it, I couldn't believe how shockingly ignorant I'd been of how I spend a full third of my life, and how much it affects the other two-thirds -- and the degree to which a lack of sleep prevents us from perceiving the effects of lack of sleep, in a kind of vicious cycle. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Mind-Consciousness-Transc... (https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Mind-Consciousness-Transcendence/dp/1594204225) [2] https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501... (https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144324)

My highlights from this year: 1. "How to Measure Anything" (Douglas Hubbard) Presents a few simple techniques (confidence intervals, Monte Carlo simulations, regression analysis, Bayes, etc) to help with decision-making. E.g., should we build this feature or spend the same money on marketing? I put it alongside "Thinking, Fast and Slow" (Daniel Kahneman), "Superforecasting" (Philip Tetlock), "The Art of Thinking Clearly" (Rolf Dobelli), etc. These books explain how our thinking is often flawed; "How to Measure Anything" gives you some tools to avoid flawed thinking. Note: if you already know the math (a lot of people on HN would), you might not get that much out of it. 2. "Why We Sleep" (Matthew Walker) As I read this book I kept thinking about all the people I knew who would benefit from it: family and friends whom I want to have healthy happy lives, managers who believe that they'll get more out of people by pushing them to work crazy hours… and lots of people who think they’ll get more out of themselves if they sleep less.…

"Why We Sleep", by Matthew Walker [1]. I've read a lot about sleep over the years, but I still found it fascinating and comprehensive. I've mentioned the book on several other threads [2], so I'll avoid repeating here. Along the same lines of expanding the ability of your body/mind, one that I'm currently reading is "What doesn't kill us" [3]. Pretty fascinating to think that we have a lot more control over our immune system than originally thought. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501... (https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144324/) [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17606274 [3] https://www.amazon.com/What-Doesnt-Kill-Environmental-Condit... (https://www.amazon.com/What-Doesnt-Kill-Environmental-Conditioning/dp/1623366909)

Why we sleep has given me an immense amount of respect for sleep, something I rather apparently knew so little about. I've put off sleep for decades, and amidst this book I've come to understand that it's been a really stupid approach to realizing my goals. I still don't understand sleep, but, Walker breaks down sleeps benefits & shows the data to back up why we should be getting a full night's rest. He has given me a newfound respect for something I wantonly would throw away at my next personal whim. Silly me, it's been working against me the whole time. Fewer late nights learning to code, and I'm making much better progress already in the memory department. As for Cavey's book: Cavey takes a really interesting look at Jesus through a historical lens, coupled with all these little things I had missed in my own reading of the New Testament. It's full of goodies, and is one of those books I've got 20 copies of in my library to hand out like candy.