Why We Sleep Quotes

“the practice of natural biphasic sleep, and a healthy diet, appear to be the keys to a long-sustained life.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Take cetaceans, such as dolphins and whales, for example. Their sleep, of which there is only NREM, can be unihemispheric, meaning they will sleep with half a brain at a time!”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams

“las siestas diurnas que contienen un número suficiente de husos del sueño ofrecen una importante mejora en la memoria de las habilidades motoras, y además facilitan la recuperación energética y la reducción de la fatiga muscular.”
― Matthew Walker, Por qué dormimos: La nueva ciencia del sueño

“Mere seconds before the dreaming phase begins, and for as long as that REM-sleep period lasts, you are completely paralyzed”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Sadly, human beings are in fact the only species that will deliberately deprive themselves of sleep without legitimate gain.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams

“[...] Dopiero wtedy naukowcy uświadomili sobie, że z eksperymentu płynie doniosły wniosek: sen REM jest murem oddzielającym racjonalność od szaleństwa. Gdybyśmy opisali powyższe symptomy psychiatrze, nie informując go o okoliczności pozbawienia uczestników snu REM, postawiłby jednoznaczną diagnozę, stwierdzając depresję, zaburzenia lękowe albo schizofrenię. A przecież jeszcze kilka dni temu mieliśmy do czynienia z młodymi zdrowymi ludźmi.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“En el interior del cerebro, dormir mejora diferentes funciones, como nuestra capacidad de aprender, memorizar, tomar decisiones y realizar elecciones lógicas.”
― Matthew Walker, Por qué dormimos: La nueva ciencia del sueño

“Within the brain, sleep enriches a diversity of functions, including our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions and choices. Benevolently servicing our psychological health, sleep recalibrates our emotional brain circuits, allowing us to navigate next-day social and psychological challenges with cool-headed composure. We are even beginning to understand the most impervious and controversial of all conscious experiences: the dream. Dreaming provides a unique suite of benefits to all species fortunate enough to experience it, humans included. Among these gifts are a consoling neurochemical bath that mollifies painful memories and a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge, inspiring creativity.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Sleep remained one of the last great biological mysteries.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“النوم هو الشئ الوحيد الأكثر فعالية الذي نستطيع القيام به من أجل إعادة تهيئة دماغنا وصحتنا الجسدية كل يوم، وهو أفضل سلاح في مواجهة الموت. والمؤسف أن الدليل الحقيقي الذي يوضح الأخطار الواقعة على الأفراد والمجتمعات نتيجة قلة النوم لا يزال غير معروض أمام الناس بطريقةٍ واضحة”
― ماثيو ووكر, لماذا ننام اكتشف طاقة النوم والأحلام

“bespoke”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Caffeine has an average half-life of five to seven hours. Let’s say that you have a cup of coffee after your evening dinner, around 7:30 p.m. This means that by 1:30 a.m., 50 percent of that caffeine may still be active and circulating throughout your brain tissue.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“In short, emotions in appropriate amounts make life worth living. They offer a healthy and vital existence, psychologically and biologically speaking. Take them away, and you face a sterile existence with no highs or lows to speak of. Emotionless, you will simply exist, rather than live.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Don’t lie in bed awake. If you find yourself still awake after staying in bed for more than twenty minutes or if you are starting to feel anxious or worried, get up and do some relaxing activity until you feel sleepy. The anxiety of not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Have the right sunlight exposure. Daylight is key to regulating daily sleep patterns. Try to get outside in natural sunlight for at least thirty minutes each day. If possible, wake up with the sun or use very bright lights in the morning. Sleep experts recommend that, if you have problems falling asleep, you should get an hour of exposure to morning sunlight and turn down the lights before bedtime.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Dark bedroom, cool bedroom, gadget-free bedroom. Get rid of anything in your bedroom that might distract you from sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncomfortable bed, or warm temperatures. You sleep better if the temperature in the room is kept on the cool side. A TV, cell phone, or computer in the bedroom can be a distraction and deprive you of needed sleep. Having a comfortable mattress and pillow can help promote a good night’s sleep. Individuals who have insomnia often watch the clock. Turn the clock’s face out of view so you don’t worry about the time while trying to fall asleep.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Take a hot bath before bed. The drop in body temperature after getting out of the bath may help you feel sleepy, and the bath can help you relax and slow down so you’re more ready to sleep.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Relax before bed. Don’t overschedule your day so that no time is left for unwinding. A relaxing activity, such as reading or listening to music, should be part of your bedtime ritual.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Don’t take naps after 3 p.m. Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“If possible, avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep. Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure, or asthma medications, as well as some over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds, or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, talk to your health care provider or pharmacist to see whether any drugs you’re taking might be contributing to your insomnia and ask whether they can be taken at other times during the day or early in the evening.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Avoid large meals and beverages late at night. A light snack is okay, but a large meal can cause indigestion, which interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids at night can cause frequent awakenings to urinate.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. Having a nightcap or alcoholic beverage before sleep may help you relax, but heavy use robs you of REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep. Heavy alcohol ingestion also may contribute to impairment in breathing at night. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol have worn off.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, colas, certain teas, and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine, and its effects can take as long as eight hours to wear off fully. Therefore, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, often causing smokers to sleep only very lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up too early in the morning because of nicotine withdrawal.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least thirty minutes on most days but not later than two to three hours before your bedtime.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to changes in sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won’t fully make up for a lack of sleep during the week and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning. Set an alarm for bedtime. Often we set an alarm for when it’s time to wake up but fail to do so for when it’s time to go to sleep. If there is only one piece of advice you remember and take from these twelve tips, this should be it.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Both of these global tragedies were entirely preventable. The same is true for every sleep-loss statistic in this chapter.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Chernobyl nuclear power station on April 26, 1986. The radiation from the disaster was one hundred times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped in World War II.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“twenty-two hours without sleep, human performance is impaired to the same level as that of someone who is legally drunk.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“Mother Nature spent millions of years implementing this essential physiological need. To think that bravado, willpower, or a few decades of experience can absolve you (a surgeon) of an evolutionarily ancient necessity is the type of hubris that, as we know from the evidence, costs lives.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

“For example, if you are a patient under the knife of an attending physician who has not been allowed at least a six-hour sleep opportunity the night prior, there is a 170 percent increased risk of that surgeon inflicting a serious surgical error on you, such as organ damage or major hemorrhaging, relative to the superior procedure they would conduct when they have slept adequately.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams