What not to read before bed

I’ve been reading Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker and it’s fascinating. I now know all sorts of wacky things about sleep, such as: your muscles are paralyzed during R.E.M. sleep so you don’t act out your dreams; early sleep researchers spent months deep in a cave trying to learn how circadian rhythms work; and if doctors zap your head in the exact same rhythm as your brain’s natural electrical impulses, you’ll achieve deeper sleep.

This would be an excellent book to have read when I was sixteen. Back then, my dad liked to book me for a 6 a.m. waitressing shifts (his way of trying to get me home before midnight). I could have explained to him that adolescents don’t produce melatonin until later in the evening, and yet need more sleep than adults, and therefore sleeping in on Saturday mornings was basically required.

That would have been good.

What’s not so good: reading the book as a semi-wrinkly person. Now, instead of lying in bed at 4 a.m. wishing I could go back to sleep, I lie there knowing I’m increasing my chances of cancer and Alzheimer’s, reducing my next day resistance to viruses, increasing my chances of emotional meltdowns, making myself less attractive by the minute…

Sometimes it’s possible to know too much.

There must be an upcoming chapter on how to actually sleep better. Otherwise, I’m going to sign up for zapping.

2 thoughts on “What not to read before bed

  1. Shelley Hrdlitschka

    Did you get to the section on how to sleep better? I want to know why my Fitbit always tells me I was awake 25+ times in the night.

    I have been scrolling through your blog, Tanya, and really enjoying your posts. Silence and Violence. That really made me laugh.

    Cheers!
    Shelley

    Reply
  2. Tanya Kyi

    I used to call the kids Monkey One and Monkey Two, but they objected. So the new names are their own choices. 🙂

    The author of Why We Sleep was on Hidden Brain, and it’s worth a listen: https://www.npr.org/2017/11/13/563831137/the-swiss-army-knife-of-health-a-good-nights-sleep

    I always enjoy your blog as well. And I can’t wait to read Lost Boy. I love the cover! (Plus, as a former Creston-ite, I’m automatically interested in the topic.)

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *