What We Are Reading Today: ‘Why We Sleep’

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Updated 24 August 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Why We Sleep’

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  • He elaborates on the latest research data on sleep functions, revealing how it can enhance memory, strengthen the immune system and improve innovative thinking

Author: Matthew Walker

In “Why We Sleep,” Matthew Walker discusses the significant role of sleep in our physical and mental health.

Writing about the results of decades of research, Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California and director of the San Francisco Center for Human Sleep Science, reflects on common myths about sleep and makes appealing arguments for its importance.

The spread of sleep deprivation in modern life has become alarming. Many people may not be aware of its long-term consequences, which is one of the main ideas that Walker emphasizes in this book.

He presents scientific evidence explaining how chronic sleep loss leaves devastating impacts not only on health but also our on cognitive function and longevity.

From the risk of developing serious health issues such as cancer to the lack of ability to make decisions and emotional regulation, he argues that people should not neglect the need to sleep.

Walker’s ability to translate complex concepts into understandable, compelling stories is impressive; whether explaining the complex neural mechanisms underlying sleep or the fascinating evolutionary history of the sleep-wake cycle, his writing style is clear, effective and engaging.

He also elaborates on the latest research data on sleep functions, revealing how it can enhance memory, strengthen the immune system and improve innovative thinking.

Walker also sheds light on the mysterious world of dreams, suggesting that they might play a major role in emotional processing and problem-solving.  

By emphasizing the vital importance of sleep in our lives, Walker encourages his readers to prioritize this important aspect of their health.

Whether you are a sleep-deprived student, a busy employee, or someone interested in the depth of the human mind, “Why We Sleep” is informative and helpful.

 

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Africa’s Buildings’ by Itohan I. Osayimwse

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Africa’s Buildings’ by Itohan I. Osayimwse
Updated 07 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Africa’s Buildings’ by Itohan I. Osayimwse

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Africa’s Buildings’ by Itohan I. Osayimwse

Between the 19th century and today, colonial officials, collectors, and anthropologists dismembered African buildings and dispersed their parts to museums in Europe and the United States.

Most of these artifacts were cataloged as ornamental art objects, which erased their intended functions, and the removal of these objects often had catastrophic consequences for the original structures.

“Africa’s Buildings” traces the history of the collection and distribution of African architectural fragments, documenting the brutality of the colonial regimes that looted Africa’s buildings.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Birds at Rest’ by Roger Pasquier

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Birds at Rest’ by Roger Pasquier
Updated 06 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Birds at Rest’ by Roger Pasquier

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Birds at Rest’ by Roger Pasquier

“Birds at Rest” is the first book to give a full picture of how birds rest, roost, and sleep, a vital part of their lives.

It features new science that can measure what is happening in a bird’s brain over the course of a night or when it has flown to another hemisphere, as well as still-valuable observations by legendary naturalists such as John James Audubon, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Theodore Roosevelt. Much of what they saw and what ornithologists are studying today can be observed and enjoyed by any birder.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘On the Art and Craft of Doing Science’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘On the Art and  Craft of Doing Science’
Updated 05 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘On the Art and Craft of Doing Science’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘On the Art and  Craft of Doing Science’

Author: Kenneth Catania 

Like any creative endeavor, science can be a messy and chaotic affair.

“On the Art and Craft of Doing Science” shares the creative process of an innovative and accomplished scientist, taking readers behind the scenes of some of his most pioneering investigations and explaining why the practice of science, far from being an orderly exercise in pure logic, is a form of creative expression like any other art.

Kenneth Catania begins by discussing how ideas set the stage for scientific breakthroughs and goes on to describe ways to approach experimental design.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Fuji: A Mountain in the Making’

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Updated 04 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Fuji: A Mountain in the Making’

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  • It has been both a totem of national unity and a flashpoint for economic and political disputes

Author: ANDREW W. BERNSTEIN

Mount Fuji is everywhere recognized as a wonder of nature and enduring symbol of Japan.

Yet behind the picture-postcard image is a history filled with conflict and upheaval. Violent eruptions across the centuries wrought havoc and instilled fear.

It has been both a totem of national unity and a flashpoint for economic and political disputes.

And while its soaring majesty has inspired countless works of literature and art, the foot of the mountain is home to military training grounds and polluting industries.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Aquarium’

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Updated 04 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Aquarium’

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  • Hemon’s writing grapples with displacement and identity, weaving together fiction, memoir, and history

Aleksandar Hemon’s 2011 essay “The Aquarium” is an exploration of parental love, grief, and the isolating toll of confronting a child’s mortality. The essay was first published in The New Yorker and later appeared in “The Book of My Lives” in 2013.

Written with unflinching honesty, the piece chronicles Hemon’s experience navigating his infant daughter Isabel’s diagnosis of a rare brain tumor and the family’s agonizing journey through surgeries, chemotherapy, and loss.  

Hemon juxtaposes the clinical detachment of medical jargon — “external ventricular drain,” “stem-cell recovery” — with visceral snapshots: Isabel’s breath on his chest, her laughter amid IV drips, her small hand gripping his finger.

At the heart of the essay lies the metaphor of an aquarium where the family exists in a suffocating bubble, visible to the outside world but severed from its rhythms.

Central to the narrative is Hemon’s elder daughter Ella, who processes her sister’s illness through an imaginary brother, Mingus.

Stylistically, Hemon oscillates between reporter-like precision and raw vulnerability. He rejects platitudes about suffering’s “ennobling” nature, writing: “Isabel’s suffering and death did nothing for her, or us, or the world.”

The essay’s power lies in its refusal to soften despair, instead confronting the “indelible absence” grief leaves behind.

Hemon’s writing grapples with displacement and identity, weaving together fiction, memoir, and history. A MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, he doesn’t just tell stories; he uses language to find pockets of hope in shattered lives.

Think of him as a guide through the chaos of modern exile — equal parts poet and provocateur.