This week, the TedTalk that I watched was called Sleep is Your Superpower and given by Matt Walker. He is a British writer and scientist whose research examines the impacts of sleep on human health and disease. 

The main theme of the TedTalk was to encourage people of all ages across the world to put a greater emphasis on sleep and recognize the significant impacts that sleep has on every aspect of human life. In the talk, Matt is preaching that sleeping for 8 hours every night is essential for optimal living and should be an experience for all people. 

He effectively conveys this idea through the use of relatable facts and research studies to further support his claims. In the opening of the speech, he begins with the shocking statistics that men who sleep 5 hours a night have significantly smaller testicles than men who sleep for 7 hours or more. He also goes on to discuss that not sleeping enough ages men about 10 years, and provides similar freighting statistics for women’s reproductive systems. 

In the speech, Matt then goes on to talk about how poor sleeping patterns negatively affect the immune system, cardiovascular system, genetics, the body, memory, and brain functions. Again, everything that he mentions is backed up by research and studies which he displays in a condensed way, making it easy to focus on the important details and statistics. 

As he closes out the talk, Matt shares two main points for how we can achieve better sleep:

1. Establishing a routine and regularity
2. Keeping areas of sleep at cool temperatures 

The point of the speech was not just to spread fear and leave viewers to think that their existence is doomed due to a lack of sleep. Instead, Matt is encouraging us to prioritize sleep, rather than simply viewing it as a luxury, and he offers practical tips and advice to help us all achieve the necessary hours of sleep that he speaks about. 

I think that Matt is a stronger speaker with a straightforward presentation style. He conveys each message in a very straightforward and understandable way. Matt’s TedTalk is a good example of how to effectively deliver a speech and present a presentation, as he effectively speaks directly to his audience. His use of common experiences and statistics to speak to the human audience ultimately helps his speech to be effective in shifting the minds of people. 

So, all in all, TedTalk effectively shifted the audience’s minds and emphasized the importance of getting a good night’s rest. Based on the data presented, I definitely will be aiming for 8 hours of rest, and so should you!