Quotations by Matthew Walker

Melatonin simply provides the official instruction to commence the event of sleep, but does not participate in the sleep race itself. For these reasons melatonin is not a powerful sleep aid in and of itself, at least not for healthy, non-jet-lagged individuals. [2017] - Matthew Walker

It feels harder to acclimate to a new time zone when traveling eastward than when flying westward. The eastward direction requires that you fall asleep earlier than you would normally, which is a tall biological order for the mind to simply will into action. In contract, the westward direction requires you to stay up later, which is a consciously and pragmatically easier prospect. [2017] - Matthew Walker

A large European study of almost 25,000 individuals demonstrated that sleeping six hours or less was associated with a 40 percent increased risk of developing cancer, relative to those sleeping seven hours a night or more. [2017] - Matthew Walker

Compared to reading a printed book, reading on an iPad suppressed melatonin release by over 50 percent at night. Indeed, iPad reading delayed the rise of melatonin by up to three hours, relative to the natural rise in these same individuals when reading a printed book. When reading on the iPad, their melatonin peak, and thus instruction to sleep, did not occur until the early-morning hours, rather than before midnight. Unsurprisingly, individuals took longer to fall asleep after iPad reading relative to print-copy reading. [2017] - Matthew Walker

To successfully initiate sleep, your core temperature needs to decrease by 2 to 3 degree Fahrenheit (about 1 degree Celsius). For this reason, you will always find it easier to fall asleep in a room that is too cold than too hot, since a room that is too cold is at least dragging your brain and body in the correct (downward) temperature direction for sleep. Warm hands and feet help your body's core cool, including inviting sleep quickly and efficiently. Sleep clinicians treating insomnia patients will often ask about room temperature, and will advise patients to drop their current thermostat set-point by 3 to 5 degrees from that which they currently use. [2017] - Matthew Walker

Currently, the most effective method for improving your sleep is called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I: (1) establish a regular bedtime and wake-up time, even on weekends, (2) go to bed only when sleepy and avoid sleeping on the couch early/mid-evenings, (3) never lie awake in bed for a significant time period; rather, get out of bed and do something quiet and relaxing until the urge to sleep returns, (4) avoid daytime napping if you are having difficulty sleeping at night, (5) reduce anxiety-provoking thoughts and worries by learning to mentally decelerate before bed, and (6) remove visible clock-faces from view in the bedroom, preventing clock-watching anxiety at night. [2017] - Matthew Walker