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"Why we sleep" is, according to independent research, almost complete bullshit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21546850 https://news.ycombinator.com/item

"Why we sleep" is, according to independent research, almost complete bullshit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21546850 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21546850 https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/sleep-myths-debunked-coffee-tips-snoring-tired-dreams-a8240456.html https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families... https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/ https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/

bsmitty5000 7y ago
Wow this is the first time I've ever seen a contrarian opinion on this book. I've never read Why We Sleep but I see it pop up in threads really often.
- benjohnson 7y ago
  If you have good sleep habits you don't need to read the book. If you think of sleep as an annoyance or not worthwhile then I highly recommend it
  - tonyedgecombe 7y ago
    It's still an interesting read even if you do sleep well. If nothing else it will help you have some empathy for people who struggle or just have a different pattern to yourself.
fcarraldo 7y ago
Is it, though? The first link is just the HN thread on the third link, which contains some debate about whether the criticisms from the third are accurate, and the Independent _cites_ "Why We Sleep" throughout - not debunks it.
greentrust 7y ago
"almost complete bullshit" is a bit strong. i've read both the book and the Guzey piece and i think the most substantial insight in his rebuttal is that oversleeping can increase mortality risk, otherwise it seems like a lot of “he cited this wrong” or <nasally-voice>well technically…</nasally-voice>. most of the broader themes in walkers book still stand.
- guzey 7y ago
  >i've read both the book and the Guzey piece and i think the most substantial insight in his rebuttal is that oversleeping can increase mortality risk You're misreading my piece. It never claimed that oversleeping can increase mortality risk. However, I do show that Walker repeatedly misrepresents important evidence, makes stuff up, lacks basic understanding of biology etc. etc.
Jedd 7y ago
> "Why we sleep" is, according to independent research, almost complete bullshit: > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21546850 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21546850 > https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families.. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families.... > https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/ https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/ Complete? I wouldn't say so - as others have noted, there's a few issues that the author of that blog post has with some small assertions made by Matthew Walker. Whether that throws everything in the book into question is an interesting question, but if the whole book was 'complete bullshit' then I'd expect a more comprehensive debunking than that blog post. As to the links you've cited there -- 1 and 3 are the same link (well, HN comments in (1) point to the actual story at (3). The second link seems to agree with -- and be full of exactly the same myth debunking & recommendations that -- Matthew Walker makes. As it happens I'm about 80% the way through the book now.
- guzey 7y ago
  >there's a few issues that the author of that blog post has with some small assertions made by Matthew Walker. This is not true. I point out that within the first 10 pages of the book, Walker misrepresents serious facts (the longevity and the cancer thing), makes stuff up (the WHO sleep epidemic thing), shows lack of understanding of basic sleep facts (the FFI thing), etc.

bsmitty5000 7y ago

Wow this is the first time I've ever seen a contrarian opinion on this book. I've never read Why We Sleep but I see it pop up in threads really often.

benjohnson 7y ago
If you have good sleep habits you don't need to read the book. If you think of sleep as an annoyance or not worthwhile then I highly recommend it
- tonyedgecombe 7y ago
  It's still an interesting read even if you do sleep well. If nothing else it will help you have some empathy for people who struggle or just have a different pattern to yourself.

fcarraldo 7y ago

Is it, though? The first link is just the HN thread on the third link, which contains some debate about whether the criticisms from the third are accurate, and the Independent _cites_ "Why We Sleep" throughout - not debunks it.

greentrust 7y ago

"almost complete bullshit" is a bit strong. i've read both the book and the Guzey piece and i think the most substantial insight in his rebuttal is that oversleeping can increase mortality risk, otherwise it seems like a lot of “he cited this wrong” or <nasally-voice>well technically…</nasally-voice>. most of the broader themes in walkers book still stand.

guzey 7y ago
>i've read both the book and the Guzey piece and i think the most substantial insight in his rebuttal is that oversleeping can increase mortality risk You're misreading my piece. It never claimed that oversleeping can increase mortality risk. However, I do show that Walker repeatedly misrepresents important evidence, makes stuff up, lacks basic understanding of biology etc. etc.

Jedd 7y ago

> "Why we sleep" is, according to independent research, almost complete bullshit: > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21546850 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21546850 > https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families.. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families.... > https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/ https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/ Complete? I wouldn't say so - as others have noted, there's a few issues that the author of that blog post has with some small assertions made by Matthew Walker. Whether that throws everything in the book into question is an interesting question, but if the whole book was 'complete bullshit' then I'd expect a more comprehensive debunking than that blog post. As to the links you've cited there -- 1 and 3 are the same link (well, HN comments in (1) point to the actual story at (3). The second link seems to agree with -- and be full of exactly the same myth debunking & recommendations that -- Matthew Walker makes. As it happens I'm about 80% the way through the book now.

guzey 7y ago
>there's a few issues that the author of that blog post has with some small assertions made by Matthew Walker. This is not true. I point out that within the first 10 pages of the book, Walker misrepresents serious facts (the longevity and the cancer thing), makes stuff up (the WHO sleep epidemic thing), shows lack of understanding of basic sleep facts (the FFI thing), etc.