Kelly Corrigan Wonders Deep Dive with Dr. Matt Walker, W. Kamau Bell and Maya Shankar on Sleep
Feb 17, 2026
Dr. Matthew Walker, neuroscientist, UC Berkeley professor and author of Why We Sleep, joins cognitive scientist Maya Shankar and comedian W. Kamau Bell. They unpack sleep’s links to mental health, stages that matter for mood, naps and caffeine timing, tracker anxiety and alcohol’s sleep harms. They close with policy ideas and practical prioritization tips.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Kamau Bell On Lifelong Parental Sleep Debt
- W. Kamau Bell described chronic disrupted sleep since his oldest child's birth in 2011.
- He says he can fall asleep anywhere but carries a sleep debt and often feels unrefreshed.
Watch Sleep Efficiency, Not Just Feelings
- Use sleep efficiency as a measure: aim for >85% of time in bed spent asleep.
- Track awakenings objectively if you feel unrefreshed despite thinking you slept through.
One Week Of Short Sleep Alters Gene Activity
- Shorting sleep to six hours alters thousands of genes, raising disease-promoting activity.
- Sleep loss increases genes linked to tumor growth, cardiovascular risk, and inflammation.
