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.
Matthew WalkerRead
You should not actually stay in bed for very long awake, because your brain is this remarkably associative device, and it quickly learns that the bed is about being awake. So you should go to another room - a room that's dim. Just read a book - no screens, no phones - and, only when you're sleepy, return to the bed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
To promote better sleep, one should avoid associating their bed with wakefulness by engaging in quiet activities away from screens.
Matthew Walker emphasizes the importance of creating a proper sleep environment by not using the bed for activities that can lead to wakefulness. Instead, he suggests going to a separate dimly-lit room to engage in relaxing activities such as reading, which helps the brain associate the bed solely with sleep, ultimately improving sleep quality.
Themes
SleepBrainEnvironmentReadingHealth
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote during a wellness seminar to highlight the importance of sleep hygiene.
More from Matthew Walker
All quotes →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.
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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.
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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.
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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 WalkerRead
You're trying to sleep off a debt that you've lumbered your brain and body with during the week, and wouldn't it be lovely if sleep worked like that? Sadly, it doesn't. Sleep is not like the bank, so you can't accumulate a debt and then try and pay it off at a later point in time.
Matthew WalkerRead
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