Matthew Walker quotes

Dream sleep provides a fascinating neurochemical soothing balm. It is during dream sleep and only during dream sleep when our brain shuts off a stress-related neurochemical called noradrenalin. (Matthew Walker)
Sleep is the Swiss army knife of health. When sleep is deficient, there is sickness and disease. And when sleep is abundant, there is vitality and health. View quote
Matthew Walker
If you were not to set an alarm clock, would you sleep past it? If the answer is yes, then there is clearly more sleep that is needed. View quote
Matthew Walker
Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain. Many people walk through their lives in an underslept state, not realizing it. View quote
Matthew Walker
Sleep is Mother Nature's best effort yet to counter death. View quote
Matthew Walker
Falling asleep is like landing a plane. It takes time. You've got to sort of gradually descend. I think one of the problems with insufficient sleep is people are not very good at predicting how poorly they are doing when they are under-slept. View quote
Matthew Walker
No one would look at an infant baby asleep, and say 'What a lazy baby!' We know sleeping is non-negotiable for a baby. But that notion is quickly abandoned. View quote
Matthew Walker
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. View quote
Matthew Walker
I just tell people I'm a dolphin trainer. It's better for everyone. View quote
Matthew Walker
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. View quote
Matthew Walker
The time of night when you sleep makes a significant difference in terms of the structure and quality of your sleep. (Matthew Walker)
People dramatically underestimate how much sleep is linked to all the diseases killing us. We know a lack of sleep is linked to numerous forms of cancer - bowel, prostate, breast cancer. View quote
Matthew Walker
If sleep does not provide a remarkable set of benefits, then it's the biggest mistake the evolutionary process has ever made. View quote
Matthew Walker
Based on the science, you can make somewhat clear statements: The number of people who can survive on six hours of sleep without impairment is zero. View quote
Matthew Walker
No one wants to give up time with their family or entertainment, so they give up sleep instead. View quote
Matthew Walker
Some people actually sleep better when the significant other is with them. For other couples, it's the opposite. View quote
Matthew Walker
I have long been puzzled by the entrenched mentality, and often enforced practice, of longer work hours and less sleep. Innumerable policies exist within the workplace regarding smoking, substance abuse, ethical behaviour, and injury and disease prevention. View quote
Matthew Walker
Below seven hours of sleep, there are objective impairments in the body. Eight hours are recommended. View quote
Matthew Walker
When did a doctor prescribe, not sleeping pills, but sleep itself? It needs to be prioritised, even incentivised. View quote
Matthew Walker
Do you tend to sleep in during the weekends? That usually signals that you're trying to sleep off a debt you've accumulated during the week. View quote
Matthew Walker
Regularity is a key: going to bed at the same time, waking up at the same time no matter what. But I think, also, it's not just about quantity - that's what we've been discovering. It's also about quality. (Matthew Walker)
Stay away from screens, especially those LED screens. Those blue-light emitting devices fool your brain into thinking that it's still daytime, even though it's night-time and you want to get to sleep. View quote
Matthew Walker
Individuals fail to recognise how their perennial state of sleep deficiency has come to compromise their mental aptitude and physical vitality, including the slow accumulation of ill health. View quote
Matthew Walker
Your subjective sense of how well you're doing under conditions of sleep deprivation is a miserable predictor of, objectively, how you actually are doing. View quote
Matthew Walker
Sleep-deprived individuals also generate fewer and less accurate solutions to problems. View quote
Matthew Walker

Matthew Walker

Matthew Walker - Image
Photo: Remdreamer, CC BY-SA 4.0
Occupation: English Scientist
Born: 1973
Quotes count: 28