CNS 2019 | Keynote Address

"Why Sleep?"

Saturday, March 23, 2019, in the Grand Ballroom of the San Francisco Hyatt Regency Hotel, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Speaker: Matthew Walker, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Abstract:

Can you recall the last time you woke up without an alarm clock feeling refreshed, not needing caffeine? If the answer is “no,” you are not alone. Two-thirds of adults fail to obtain the recommended 8 hours of nightly sleep. I doubt you are surprised by the answer to this question, but you may be surprised by the consequences. This talk will describe not only the good things that happen when you get sleep, but the alarmingly bad things that happen when you don’t get enough. The presentation will focus on the brain (learning, memory aging, Alzheimer’s disease, education), but further highlight disease-related consequences in the body (cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease). The take-home: sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset the health of our brains and bodies. Read more in this Q&A on the CNS blog.

Biography:

Matthew Walker earned his PhD in Neurophysiology from the Medical Research Council in London, UK, and subsequently became a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is currently Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science. He has received numerous funding awards from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and is a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. His research examines the impact of sleep on human health and disease. He has been featured on television and radio outlets, including CBS 60 Minutes, National Geographic Channel, NOVA Science, NPR and the BBC. He is the author of the International Bestseller, Why We Sleep.