I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

2 min read

Everyone has heard some hyper-motivated, hard charging type A personality type declare this at one point or another – “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. Just because you can does not mean you should. Let’s take a quick look at some very compelling quotes by Dr. Matthew Walker – author of Why We Sleep and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkley.

1. “Inadequate sleep—even moderate reductions for just one week—disrupts blood sugar levels so profoundly that you would be classified as pre-diabetic.” This can be replicated easily at home with a blood glucose monitor and a poor night’s sleep. Interesting how only missing a little sleep can make one appear to be on the cusp of diabetes.
2. “It is disquieting to learn that vehicular accidents caused by drowsy driving exceed those caused by alcohol and drugs combined.” This is by no means an attempt to endorse drunk driving, but instead should serve as an alarming concern for our cultural perception and relationship with sleep.
3. “Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer.” If cancer doesn’t concern you, hopefully the current events regarding the pandemic help to promote a healthier relationship with the importance of sleep.

Matthew Walker’s book is packed with tons of interesting information regarding sleep. I highly recommend the book if you are up for an extensive read on the subject, but if you just need a few tips and tricks to improve your sleep hygiene, Acuo has a few tricks up the sleeve.