Hi, welcome to my Solution Focused Hypnotherapy Blog.
This is the first in an occasional series of book reviews, the books will primarily be about the science of US, the human animal, but may also include any other good reads that I have enjoyed.
I’ve just finished reading “Why We Sleep”. It’s a fantastic book about sleeping, if you hadn’t guessed by the title.
The author is Matthew Walker; you might have seen him on breakfast TV, TED talks or YouTube.
The book is distributed through Penguin.
When Shakespeare wrote “to sleep, perchance to dream” in Hamlet in 1603, I doubt he realised how important a statement that was. When you read this book; you will discover just how important sleep is to us all.
Matthew Walker has looked at the phenomena of sleep, why we need it and what does it do for us, and the findings are mind-boggling.
The main purpose of this book is sleep, and why we sleep. Walker brings together the up-to-date science surrounding sleep and why, of all the four most important and biologically pre-determined forces that affect humans, that is to eat, drink, reproduce and sleep, that sleep is still the area that we know least about.
He nonchalantly drops in gems of information, such as that there are times during our sleep when the brain purposefully paralyses the body so we can’t move or act out our dreams. He also informs us that by not having the requisite 8 hours per night we increase the risk of cancer, the risk of Alzheimer’s is increased and you are more likely to suffer from cardio-vascular conditions and the lack of sleep can increase the chances of developing depression, anxiety, and suicidal thinking.
For many of us this snippet of information will resonate, if we don’t sleep properly, there is an increase in the amount of the hunger hormone in the body, whilst at the same time there is a decrease in the amount of the hormone that makes us feel full.
But there are wonderful rewards for a good night’s sleep, we find learning easier and quicker and our ability to problem solve is increased.
Matthew Walker also discusses the differences in sleep from the point of view of the foetus, the child, adolescents, adults and older adults and the differences between them all, and also discusses the changing sleep needs of the generations.
I’m not going to go through the book chapter by chapter as it is too good a read to take that pleasure away from you, I recommend this to anyone who is interested in how we ‘tick’ not just when we are awake but also when we are asleep.
The information is based on up to the minute neuroscience and psychological research, it is however very easy to read, If you are interested there is plenty of science to learn about but if you aren’t Matthew Walker has a knack of making the science easy to read and makes it understandable for all.
So, if you want to understand how going to bed at a reasonable time and getting a good night’s sleep can make your life so much better, I advise you to get a copy of the book.
For more information on how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can increase the quality of your sleep contact me at www.provisionhypnotherapy.co.uk