Today, Andy Zhang, Decoda’s Summer Library and Information Management Technician, shares his summer read. 

Sleep, the thing that we will spend over a third of our lives doing. Especially with the summer sun extending daylight hours, it makes people start to question.

• Why do I sleep?
• Do I need to sleep this long?
• What is the point of sleeping?

This summer I read Matthew Walker’s book on sleep. This book provides an overview of the biological process of sleep, from the evolution of sleep, to the benefits of a nocturnal nap, to the consequences of ignoring sleep.

Sleep has benefits for both the body and the brain

Sleep enhances the learning process by clearing up the learning workspace. Walker explains that sleep enhances learning, preparing the brain to absorb new information by flushing the brain with chemicals that clear out irrelevant half-thoughts and discarded memories from the day before. This ensures sufficient “space” for new facts and information to be retained.

Sleep also plays a key role in consolidating information we do want to keep. During sleep, our brains are put to work building stronger connections between memories. Chemicals wash over connections between neurons, making connections faster and more efficient. For your body’s benefits from sleep, rest boosts the immune system, regulates metabolism and appetite, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and protects against illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. Many of our bodily systems rely on the daily period of relaxation to reassess, prepare and rebuild. If you have ever had issues losing weight or building muscle, make sure you are getting sufficient rest.

Dreams during sleep play an essential role in emotional and psychological health

Dreams act like overnight therapy, providing a mental mindscape to process difficult emotions and traumatic experiences. Walker argues that many deep-seated trauma disorders could be improved by a consistent sleep schedule where consistent REM sleep cycles takes the emotional stress out of past memories. Dreams can also connect old and new memories in unique ways, fueling creativity, problem-solving and innovation. Far from being random nonsense, dreaming is one of the most sophisticated and restorative functions of the sleeping brain.

Modern life wants to take your sleep, How to stop it

Modern life sometimes seems designed to ruin your sleep: schedules, caffeine, alcohol, constant digital stimulation, artificial lighting and cultural glorification of busyness.

School start times, for example, care little for the delicate neurochemical wiring that is occurring in developing brains. Being woken up early can wreak havoc on young learners by disrupting their sleep spindle-rich period of sleep, which Walker has observed increases the chances of mood problems, higher risk of depression, weakened immune systems and even long-term health issues.

Caffeine and alcohol are two sides of a bad sleep, one to banish the body’s reminder that it needs restoration and the second constructs a pale imitation of the restful slumber we need. These twin substances both need to be treated with caution, especially for people struggling to maintain a consistent sleep schedule.

Finally, the next obstacle modern life has placed in the way of a good night’s sleep is the smartphone. A small, unassuming device that is packed with enough brightness to completely derail your body’s natural sleep cycle. It is also usually loaded with countless hours of content designed to draw your attention and focus. It is no wonder that, as a society, our sleep has become a throwaway task that we try to sweep out of the way of the more productive aspects of our lives.

Sleep is one of the easiest changes you can make to transform how you experience life. I highly recommend picking up “Why We Sleep”, especially for anyone who is currently living on under 7 hours of sleep a night or spends any amount of time driving.

Work cited

Walker, Matthew. Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams. Penguin Books, 2017.