41 Making Connections (IntroPSYC and Health): Sleep
By Meghan E. Norris and Riley J.T. Bonar
As the Canadian band, Barenaked Ladies, once sang “Who needs sleep?” The answer is: we all do. In this unit, we explore the science of sleep.
Making connections between the science and application of sleep research is important for innovation, but also important for those involved in policy work. Sleep is critically important for our health. In the below optional video, Dr. Matt Walker, Professor of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering at UT Dallas, reviews topics including neurobiology of sleep, the benefits of getting enough sleep, and the negative consequences of when we do not get enough. In this video, you’ll also briefly learn about the science of why we should not have daylight savings time as an example of ongoing policy without evidence to support it (indeed, daylight savings time has evidence against it!). If this is an area of interest, we invite you to watch this video. It includes many examples of how the science of sleep can improve our choices leading to significant benefits in health and performance.
Importantly, and addressing the very real challenge of not sleeping that the Barenaked Ladies sang about, Dr. Walker provides tips for good sleep. These include avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and naps. He also recommends going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even if it is the weekend. He also recommends keeping your sleeping space cool in temperature (around 18º Celsius).
The science of sleep falls into a broader category of psychology known as cognitive psychology. To learn more about research on the topic of cognitive psychology happening in the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University, check out the work of Dr. Daryl Wilson. Dr. Wilson is a Cognitive Psychologist, and studies the attentional control processes that we use to flexibly control our perceptions, memories, and actions in our attempt to successfully complete tasks. Using a combination of behavioural studies and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, he examines limitations in attentional control, how attentional control processes shape the world that we perceive, and the cortical mechanisms that underlie attentional control.
References
Walker, M. (2019, June 3). Sleep is your superpower [Video]. TED. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MuIMqhT8DM
How to cite this using APA Style:
Norris, M. E., & Bonar, R. J. T. (2026). Making connections (IntroPSYC and health): Sleep. In PSYC 100: Principles of psychology. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/testbookje/chapter/making-connections-intropsyc-and-health-sleep/
