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1-Page Summary of The Sleep Revolution

Overview

The Sleep Revolution is a call to action for people to value sleep more and make it a priority. According to the author, millions of people are not getting enough sleep because they prioritize work over rest or succumb to their addiction with technology. The United States’ culture regards sleep as an inefficient waste of time.

However, getting enough sleep can be a matter of life and death. People who have deprived themselves of sleep have collapsed or even died in some cases. Others have suffered and ended up in the hospital due to dangerous levels of exhaustion. Even less extreme sleep deprivation has resulted in physical and mental damage throughout history. Throughout history, many different cultures have held a profound appreciation for rest and they would go to bed when the sun went down with so many long hours spent in darkness. With this split sleeping time, people tended to experience bifurcated sleeping patterns that allowed them quiet time before returning to rest at night. In modern times however, being awake during the middle of the night is often associated with anxiety as opposed to it being part of an enjoyable routine like it was centuries ago.

Keeping smartphones nearby, even on our pillows, has a negative impact on our sleep. This is because it makes us more likely to use them at night and stay awake longer. The problem isn’t intractable though. Short naps can help undo the damage of a sleepless night and meditation can also help people fall asleep without medication. However, everyone should find their own solution as sleep habits affect every aspect of life for each person individually.

Key Takeaways

Sleep is a basic human need that is vital to our survival. Around the world, people are having trouble getting enough sleep.

The reason why people don’t sleep enough is because they believe that success comes from not sleeping.

Recent studies have shown that lack of sleep impacts everyone differently. It also has real financial and human costs for those who are not getting enough sleep.

The tools we use to help us sleep are not effective.

Key Takeaway 1: Sleep is a basic human need that is vital to our survival.

Sleep is essential to life. It impacts our health, happiness and performance at work. The brain is working while we sleep, which helps us remember things and stay sane.

Sleep is so important that it can be used as a form of torture. In the prison at Guantanamo Bay, sleep deprivation has been used on prisoners to force them to talk. The United Nations has asked the U.S. to stop using sleep deprivation as a means of torture because people begin suffering psychosis after just one day without sleep.

Sleep is crucial in the healing process. However, hospitals are noisy and interrupt sleep by checking vital signs and blood draws frequently. This prevents patients from getting adequate rest for their bodies to heal properly. Peter Ubel, a physician at The Atlantic, had surgery on his kidney for a tumor in 2013 and found that he couldn’t get any sleep because of the noise level in the hospital. He recommends changes in protocol so that doctors can perform more than one test or checkup at once instead of waking up patients multiple times throughout the night with different tests or checks, which would improve patient outcomes significantly.

Key Takeaway 2: Around the world, the human relationship to sleep is in crisis.

The average adult is supposed to get seven hours of sleep every night. However, more than 40 percent of Americans aren’t getting that much sleep. This statistic is similar around the world.