# Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/why-we-sleep/

3 people recommended Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker in Hacker News comments and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for changing views on sleep and drinking. Critics cite statistical errors and alarmism some readers took from it.

Summary written by Claude from 4 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Changed views on sleep's importance (1 comment in the sample): "changed my perspectives on the importance of sleep" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49314849))
- Better understanding of the topic (1 comment in the sample): "reading the book gave me better ways to understand how good it is" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48702695))
- Changed view on drinking (1 comment in the sample): "Why We Sleep really impacted my view on drinking." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896904))

## What people warn about

- Statistical errors and alarmism (1 comment in the sample): "Criticism surrounding the book involved concern about statistical errors in the book and the alarmism it generated in some readers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49314931))

## Other popular science books people recommend

- [Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/g-del-escher-bach/): 37 recommend, 9 mixed, 10 criticize
- [The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins](https://hackerapproved.com/p/selfish-gene/): 13 recommend, 1 mixed, 5 criticize
- [Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-fast-and-slow/): 13 recommend, 2 mixed, 13 criticize
- [Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-in-systems/): 13 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker", https://hackerapproved.com/p/why-we-sleep/ (3 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.