Friday, October 26, 2018

The Friday 56 (141) & Book Beginnings: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.


34466963Synopsis from Goodreads...

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 Sleepis a crucial and illuminating book


Beginning: "Do you think you got enough sleep this past week? Can you recall the last time you woke up without an alarm clock feeling refreshed, not needing caffeine? If the answer to either of these questions is "no," you are not alone."

56: "When did life start sleeping?"


Comments: Why We Sleep is one of the books I recently checked out from the library. I'm not done reading it yet, but so far, it's a thoroughly fascinating look at some of the science behind, well, sleep. 

What are you reading this week?

26 comments:

  1. This does sound like it has a lot of interesting facts about sleep. I definitely need my fair share of caffeine in the morning, so maybe I should give this one a try as well. Thanks so much for sharing it. :)

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    1. So far, it's interesting. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

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  2. This book sounds fascinating! I have had an up and down relationship with sleep, from avoiding it until all hours to interrupted sleep patterns in recent years.

    Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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  3. A popular topic! I imagine the book is full of fascinating tidbits.

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    1. So far, I've learned a lot of things I didn't know about. It's a fascinating topic. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

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  4. I can't empathize with the beginning. I think I've set my alarm less than five times since I retired. I do remember feeling in need of sleep lots when I was working though. This week I am spotlighting A True Cowboy Christmas by Caitlin Crews - from my review stack. Happy reading!

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  5. This does sound like a fascinating read! Enjoy! Hope you have an awesome weekend! :)

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    1. So far, it is. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

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  6. Sounds like a thoroughly fascinating read!! Happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend! :-)

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  7. This sounds interesting. I never sleep through the night anymore.

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  8. This does sound fascinating! I read a book a few years ago about the science of dreams, which I found intriguing. I will have to look for this one too! Sleep really is important--and it is something I don't get enough of or even quality sleep when I do . . .

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    1. That book sounds fascinating and like something I would be interested in reading. Do you remember what the title of that book was? Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

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  9. Yay, nonfiction. Does he mention blue light and phone screens?

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    1. I'm only part of the way through Why We Sleep. So I'm not sure. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

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  10. Ooh, this sounds thoroughly fascinating. Glad you are enjoying it so far!

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  11. I loved this book! It was such an eye-opener! I do hope you're having a lovely, restful weekend!! Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  12. Sounds like it could be a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing!

    Lauren @ Always Me

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Comments are appreciated and always welcome. :)

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