Why I Sleep
Sleep is important, no doubt. We need it to process things in our subconscious, and for the body to “run maintenance” in certain ways. There’s a popular book by Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep, that makes several strong points about the importance of sleep. The book also highlights numerous risks connected to lack of sleep, and particularly claims that 8 hours of sleep per night are important for health.
Alexey Guzey got suspicious, investigated, and found several issues with Walker’s book. Apparently some of the core claims are outright wrong or backed by false data. Consequently, the book has the potential to cause more harm than good, most prominently so by pushing people to adopting a habit of sleeping eight hours every night. Some people just don’t do that, and can develop anxiety - and, as an ironic and grim consequence, insomnia - over trying to force this habit upon themselves.
I haven’t done any of the research behind either perspective, but find some of the arguments Guzey makes worth some consideration. Especially the arguments where he points out obvious data manipulations and falsehoods raise an eyebrow.
For what a sample size of one (me) is worth, I’ve found that I can’t bring myself to sleep more than 6-7 hours per night; the inner clock just doesn’t work that way. This has been the case for decades now, and I haven’t yet developed any of the conditions I should expect, according to Walker. I may be an exception, or Walker is wrong, or whatever.
Tags: books