Merijn van de Laar
Why do we actually sleep the way we do? And why are we so incredibly preoccupied with it these days?
Dr. Merijn van de Laar is a sleep scientist, psychologist, and author of How to sleep like a caveman, which has been published internationally in more than twenty languages. He regularly appears in the media as an expert on sleep, insomnia, and dreams. He is also a knowledge partner of the Brain Foundation and the Universiteit van Nederland, and is affiliated with the Dutch Sleep Medicine Association.
Merijn combines science with humor, personal stories, and surprising insights. No endless lists of sleep hacks or yet another message that everyone must sleep eight hours, but a down-to-earth and often reassuring perspective on a subject we can easily drive ourselves crazy over.
From the consulting room to sleep science
Merijn earned his PhD researching the treatment of insomnia and worked for many years as a clinical psychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist with people experiencing severe sleep problems. He studied neuropsychology at Maastricht University.
For How to sleep like a caveman, he explored scientific research on sleep among traditional hunter-gatherer communities, including the Hadza in Tanzania. He uses this evolutionary perspective to critically examine our modern ideas about what “good sleep” should look like.
His fascination with the night doesn’t stop there. In his latest book, DROOM, Merijn explores the science behind our dreams. Why do we dream? Where do nightmares come from? Why do we remember some dreams but not others? And what do dreams have to do with our emotions and creativity?
Keynotes
Merijn invites his audience to look at sleep differently. Do we really need eight hours of sleep? Why do we wake up during the night? Can you catch up on lost sleep? What does stress do to our nights? And why can trying too hard to sleep well actually keep you awake?
He speaks on topics including sleep and insomnia, the influence of stress and our modern lifestyle, the evolutionary origins of sleep, and the fascinating science behind dreams.
His talks are scientifically grounded, accessible, surprising, and delivered with humor. No fearmongering and no miracle cures, but insights that help people better understand their sleep.
Because when you understand how sleep really works, you often have a lot less to lose sleep over.
Better sleep, better performance
Good sleep is an important foundation for how we function during the day. Sleep problems are also very common: in a large study among working people, almost one in four met the criteria for insomnia. This does not come without consequences at work. Poor sleep is associated with reduced concentration, more mistakes, lower productivity and increased absenteeism.
In this lecture, sleep scientist Merijn van de Laar explains what sleep does to our brain and our functioning, why sleeping well does not necessarily mean sleeping for eight uninterrupted hours, and which persistent sleep myths may actually keep us awake. Of course, the most important question is also addressed: what can you do yourself to sleep better? A practical, scientifically grounded lecture with concrete tools for both the night and the working day.
DREAM – what happens in our brain when we dream?
Every night, we enter a world several times that is created entirely by our own brains. We fly, meet people who are no longer with us, end up in the strangest places, and sometimes wake up with a solution to a problem we could not solve during the day. But why do we dream in the first place?
In this lecture, sleep scientist Merijn van de Laar takes the audience on a fascinating journey into the science behind our dreams. What happens in our brain while we dream? Why are dreams so strange? What do they have to do with emotions, memory and creativity? And could dreams perhaps even help us solve problems? A surprising journey through that mysterious part of our lives that we spend years experiencing, yet understand remarkably little about.