Why Sleep?: Watch Matthew Walker’s CNS 2019 Keynote

To kick off the 26th annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, Matthew Walker (UC Berkeley) gave audience members a detailed look at the myriad physiological and cognitive ways sleep influences people — and the dire consequences associated with not getting enough sleep. His presentation touched on learning, memory, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and education, as well as disease-related consequences in the body, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The take-home message was simple: Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset the health of our brains and bodies. Watch his talk here:

 

Some highlights:

.@sleepdiplomat starts his public lecture on sleep with “testicles”#CNS2019 #neuroscience pic.twitter.com/Rfas1i9Tac

— CNS News (@CogNeuroNews) March 23, 2019

Sleep can make the difference between whether you ace or fail a test –@sleepdiplomat #CNS2019 pic.twitter.com/nhryOaNxGU

— CNS News (@CogNeuroNews) March 23, 2019

Walker: people who are sleep deprived have 40% less effective learning of new information, and sleep deprivation will impair the functioning of the hippocampus, a key memory structure #CNS2019 pic.twitter.com/yhsfCScNgh

— Nikola Vukovic (@VukovicNikola) March 23, 2019

If sleep truly is so essential for learning then increasing the opportunity for it should be transformative for educational settings –@sleepdiplomat making a case for delaying school start times #CNS2019

— CNS News (@CogNeuroNews) March 23, 2019

Sleep is essential for physiology, cognition and aging, learning, and also… emotional and mental health — a lack of sleep removes regulatory brakes –@sleepdiplomat #CNS2019

— CNS News (@CogNeuroNews) March 23, 2019

“You can sleep when you are dead” — This is mortally unwise advice. The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. –@sleepdiplomat #CNS2019

— CNS News (@CogNeuroNews) March 23, 2019

Fantastic and insightful opening address by @sleepdiplomat on the importance of sleep for all facets of our life span and health span! #CNS2019 pic.twitter.com/RI3e1dS3Xa

— Katie Moran (@catmoran2) March 24, 2019

-Lisa M.P. Munoz