In the Moment: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

In the Moment is our company blog series that focuses on hot topics, current trends, and things that are just plain interesting. 

By Anne Kelly, President and founder of JunoActive. 

Sleep! Who knew!

In our fast-paced digital world, we often admire those who say they can do with less sleep.

At the library, I happened across a book on modern sleep called “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams” By Matthew Walker, PhD. It was an amazing read—I highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself.

Solidly based in science, you’ll be amazed at what they have found out about sleep. A few of my favorite tidbits I learned were that adequate sleep (at least 7 hours a day) drives weight loss, keeps muscle mass, prevents injuries, and preserves the immune system.

You’ll learn how to increase your memory by sleeping AFTER you learn something new, how short-term memories become long term memories in the brain, and you’ll even find out how caffeine actually works. Oh, and you’ll be terrified of ever driving drowsy again.

It’s a quick and entertaining read. The author says, “…please, feel free to ebb and flow into and out of consciousness during this entire book. I take absolutely no offense. On the contrary, I would be delighted.”

So my New Year’s Resolution is to sleep more! (He even promotes naps!) What’s not to like?