#131 Matthew Walker: The Power of Sleep

Knowledge Project

Podcast Notes Key Takeaways Don’t force sleep, it’s dangerous to stay awake in bed for long periods of time“You’d never sit at the dinner table waiting to get hungry, so why would you lie in bed waiting to get sleepy?” – Matthew WalkerPavlov’s Classical Conditioning: your brain will begin to bond a negative association with your bed and being awakeTarget a sleep efficiency of 85%-90% (time spent in bed asleep)The harder you try to sleep, the harder it becomesDon’t count sheep, take yourself on a long mental journey. Take your mind off of itself.“The snooze button is the perennial expression of the human frustration of chronic lingering sleep debt”– Matthew WalkerExperiment: If you regularly set an alarm clock, would you wake up at that same relative time without the alarm clock?If no, you’re probably operating in a sleep deficitAlcohol and Caffeine before bed reduce your body’s ability to benefit from sleepAlcohol is the opposite of a sleep aid, it is a sedative and sedation is not sleepTry to cut off caffeine consumption 10 hours before bedContinue reading for specific biological responsesMatthew mentions some methods for combatting insomnia and sleeping betterCognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)Sleep Restriction and Behavioral Therapy for InsomniaHow to Determine Your Chronotype and Ideal Sleep Schedule

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Renowned sleep scientist Matthew Walker discusses everything you need to know about what a better night’s sleep can do for your life, and how to prioritize and perfect the way you sleep. Walker breaks down how to identify when you need more sleep, how to deal with insomnia, the best devices to track your sleep, and some unconventional sleep hygiene tips, including why it’s never a good idea to count sheep.
Walker is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California-Berkeley, and is also the founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science. He has published over 100 scientific research studies on the impact of sleep on human brain function, and he is the author of the 2017 book, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams.   --

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