Author:Matthew Walker

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Scribner Book Company; Reprint edition (19 Jun. 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1501144324

ISBN-13: 978-1501144325

Product Dimensions: 14 x 2 x 21.3 cm

梦境是区别有意识生物和无意识生物的重要因素，过去20年间，随着以迈克尔·加扎尼加、马修·沃克、史蒂芬·平克为代表一批认知神经学家和认知心理学家出现，以及新型的神经影像技术发展，睡眠、梦、大脑和意识的秘密才逐渐被解开——在心理上，睡眠和梦境与意识、认知、思考、欲望、记忆、情绪有关，从生理上，睡眠和梦境与免疫系统、新陈代谢、先天疾病、内分泌系统有关。

书中解答了许多关于睡眠的问题，例如：

睡眠究竟是心理行为还是生理行为？

提高创造力但是阻碍大脑休息，做梦究竟好不好？

除了睡眠，还有别的什么行为能影响人类的情绪？

睡得多的对大脑是有益还是有害？

失眠应该去看内分泌科还是心理科？

为什么你看一眼就能够判断一个人是睡着了而不是DEAD了？

作者在这本横跨心理学、医学、脑科学、神经学、遗传和基因学等多学科的书中，不仅系统的阐述了睡眠、梦境和大脑的关系，还将生物学内容作为整本书知识体系的补充。他没有在“潜意识”“本我”“超我”等精神分析学派的领域进行深入探讨，而是选择从情绪、行为、生理心理学和生物遗传学的角度切入，探讨了“睡眠”和“梦境”对生物、人类和社会的巨大影响。

With two appearances on CBS This Morning and Fresh Air's most popular interview of 2017, Matthew Walker has made abundantly clear that sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when it is absent. Compared to the other basic drives in life--eating, drinking, and reproducing--the purpose of sleep remains more elusive.

Within the brain, sleep enriches a diversity of functions, including our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge, inspiring creativity.

In this "compelling and utterly convincing" (The Sunday Times) book, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker provides a revolutionary exploration of sleep, examining how it affects every aspect of our physical and mental well-being. Charting the most cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and marshalling his decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood and energy levels, regulate hormones, prevent cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes, slow the effects of aging, and increase longevity. He also provides actionable steps towards getting a better night's sleep every night.

"A neuroscientist has found a revolutionary way of being cleverer, more attractive, slimmer, happier, healthier and of warding off cancer — a good night’s shut-eye ... It’s probably a little too soon to tell you that Why We Sleep saved my life, but I can tell you that it’s been an eye-opener."—The Guardian

“Walker is a scientist but writes for the layperson, illustrating tricky concepts with easily grasped analogies. Of particular interest to business owners, educators, parents, and government officials, and anyone who has ever suffered from a poor night’s sleep.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Most of us have no idea what we do with a third of our lives. In this lucid and engaging book, Matt Walker explains the new science that is rapidly solving this age-old mystery. Why We Sleep is a canny pleasure that will have you turning pages well past your bedtime.”—Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard and author of Stumbling on Happiness

Matthew Walker is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley, the Director of its Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab, and a former professor of psychiatry at Harvard University. He has published over 100 scientific studies and has appeared on 60 Minutes, Nova, BBC News, and NPR's Science Friday. Why We Sleep is his first book.