Matthew Walker
FollowThe latest interviews, podcast appearances, and blog posts from Matthew Walker, updated daily.
#146 - How Sleep Changes Across the Human Lifespan
Matt tracks sleep across the human lifespan, from newborn "active sleep" to the shifts of healthy aging.
#145 - How to get More Deep Sleep
Matt explains the science of deep sleep, emphasizing that this front-loaded stage is vital for physical and mental repair.
#144 - Face Blindness Explained
Matt explores how the brain constructs reality by examining neurological anomalies. He contrasts "super-recognizers" with those living with prosopagnosia, or face blindness.
#143 - The Science of Love, Desire, and Sex
Matt examines the neurobiology of love, defining it as a reward system rather than just an emotion.
#142 - How Memory Affects Sleep
Exploring how daily memories shape the biology of sleep, Matt reveals that, beyond consolidating facts, the brain's restorative depth is a response to daytime effort.
The Beekeepers Garden - A Sleep Story Read by Matt Walker
Matt invites you to embark upon a gentle journey to a peaceful, restful sleep. After settling in and breathing deeply, you will find yourself on a winding lane.
#141 - The Daylight Mistake
Matt illuminates sunlight’s biological impact beyond Vitamin D as he reveals that our eyes contain a hidden daylight circuit wired directly to the brain.
#140 - Tired but Wired
Exploring the "tired but wired" state where exhaustion meets an overactive alerting system, Matt explains that insomnia is often a disorder of hyperarousal rather than a lack of sleep drive.
#139 - Waking Up
Matt explains sleep inertia - the groggy transition to wakefulness - noting that waking is a process, not a switch, and that brain regions activate at different speeds.
#138 - The Sleepy Girl Mocktail
Deconstructing the "Sleepy Girl Mocktail", Matt separates digital hype from rigorous sleep science.