It’s not that we simply get old, and memory starts to go, and sleep starts to deteriorate. But those two things actually are significantly interrelated. Matthew Walker Read Quote
I think the first general point to make from epidemiological studies across millions of people is the following – that short sleep predicts a shorter life. It predicts all cause mortality. Matthew Walker Read Quote
I think many people walk through their lives in an under-slept state not realizing it. It’s become this new natural baseline. Matthew Walker Read Quote
The amount of sleep – the total amount of sleep that you get – starts to decrease the older that we get. I think one of the myths out there is that we simply need less sleep as we age, and that’s not true, in fact. Matthew Walker Read Quote
You should not actually stay in bed for very long awake, because your brain is this remarkably associative device, and it quickly learns that the bed is about being awake. So you should go to another room – a room that’s dim. Just read a book – no screens, no phones – and, only when you’re sleepy, return to the bed. Matthew Walker Read Quote
If we didn’t need eight hours of sleep and could survive on six, Mother Nature would have done away with 25 percent of our sleep time millions of years ago. Because when you think about it, sleep is an idiotic thing to do. Matthew Walker Read Quote
No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation. It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. And yet no one is doing anything about it. Matthew Walker Read Quote
It’s simply that older adults don’t seem to be able to generate sleep efficiently, and that’s why they’re not getting it. Matthew Walker Read Quote
When I give lectures, people will wait behind until there is no one around and then tell me quietly, ‘I seem to be one of those people who need eight or nine hours’ sleep.’ It’s embarrassing to say it in public. Matthew Walker Read Quote
What is dreaming, and what happens, and are there any real benefits to dreaming? Well, to take a step back, I think it’s important to note that dreaming essentially is a time when we all become flagrantly psychotic. Matthew Walker Read Quote
