the_vegan_bookworm 's review for:

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker

4.0

informative reflective medium-paced

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This book is incredibly informative about sleep and corrects many myths that we commonly think of when it comes to sleep in our own lives. I learned many things that will help me in my own life and with my own sleep cycle.

The book doesn't get a higher rating for me, because it felt like the author claims sleep deprivation is the cause of many conditions and historical events (e.g., the Chernobyl disaster) without adequate sources nor a nuanced lens. These claims therefore feel hyperbolic compared to the rest of the book's diligent research.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Car accident

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Fatphobia

CAR ACCIDENT: Graphic description of car accident. ABLEISM: Moderate. The author implies a relationship between poor sleep and several health conditions such as autism, ADHD and substance abuse. In doing so, he frequently uses ableist language and/or ideas. On page 315, he criticizes the use of stimulants for treatment of ADHD when his expertise is not on this condition nor its management. Instead, this argument comes off as critical of all who manage ADHD using medication. As well, on page 317, the author describes someone as being a "helpless drug addict" and their drug use as being "a dirty secret...and a sad habit". ANIMAL CRUELTY: Graphic. Several descriptions of animal testing that vary in levels of detail. For some, the author expressed sympathy to the suffering of the testing animals. FATPHOBIA: Minor. The author conflates obesity with other health conditions without research to back these claims.