Why we sleep : unlocking the power of sleep and dreams / Matthew Walker, PhD.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walker, Matthew P., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sleep.

Sleep--Physiological aspects.

PSYCHOLOGY / Mental Health.

SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Human Anatomy & Physiology.

HEALTH & FITNESS / Sleep & Sleep Disorders.

Local Subjects:

Sleep--Physiological aspects.

PSYCHOLOGY / Mental Health.

Sleep.

SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Human Anatomy & Physiology.

HEALTH & FITNESS / Sleep & Sleep Disorders.

Physical Description:

viii, 360 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2017.

Summary:

"The first sleep book by a leading scientific expert--Professor Matthew Walker, Director of UC Berkeley's Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab--reveals his groundbreaking exploration of sleep, explaining how we can harness its transformative power to change our lives for the better. Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when we don't sleep. Compared to the other basic drives in life--eating, drinking, and reproducing--the purpose of sleep remained elusive. An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. Within the brain, sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming mollifies painful memories and creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge to inspire creativity. Walker answers important questions about sleep: how do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What really happens during REM sleep? Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us and can they do long-term damage? Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and accessible, Why We Sleep is a crucial and illuminating book"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part 1. This thing called sleep

To sleep ...

Caffeine, jet lag, and melatonin: losing and gaining control of your sleep rhythm

Defining and generating sleep: time dilation and what we learned from a baby in 1952

Ape beds, dinosaurs, and napping with half a brain: who sleeps, how do we sleep, and how much?

Part 2. Why should you sleep?

Your mother and Shakespeare knew: the benefits of sleep for the brain

Too extreme for the Guinness Book of World Records: sleep deprivation and the brain

Cancer, heart attacks, and a shorter life: sleep deprivation and the body

Part 3. How and why we dream

Routinely psychotic: REM-sleep dreaming

Dreaming as overnight therapy

Dream creativity and dream control

Part 4. From sleeping pills to society transformed

Things that go bump in the night:" sleep disorders and death caused by no sleep

iPads, factory whistles, and nightcaps: what's stopping you from sleeping?

Hurting and helping your sleep: pills vs. therapy

Sleep and society: what medicine and education are doing wrong; what Google and NASA are doing right

A new vision for sleep in the twenty-first century

Conclusion: To sleep or not to sleep

Appendix: Twelve tips for healthy sleep.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Walker, Matthew P. Why we sleep.

ISBN:

9781501144318

1501144316

9781501144325

1501144324

OCLC:

975365716