Best Bits #2 – How to Improve Your Sleep

Best Bits • #2
Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience

Welcome to another of my Best Bits to celebrate the amazing milestone of 500,000 downloads for The Happy Menopause podcast.

This time, I’m diving right back into the archive to Season 1 for this one, because my chat about sleep with Professor Russell Foster was absolutely fascinating, and even in this pared-down version, there is a wealth of excellent advice.

Russell is the Founder and Director of The Sleep and Circadian Research Institute and Head of Oxford University’s Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology. He’s carried out decades of research into the science of circadian rhythms and sleep cycles and won multiple awards for his work. There’s no doubt that he’s the man to speak to about anything to do with sleep!

In this series of extracts, we discuss Russell’s 4-pillar approach to getting a good night’s sleep; learn why sleep apps are mostly a waste of time; understand the science behind our circadian rhythms and how exposure to morning light is the key to a good night’s sleep. Russell is full of fascinating insights and practical tips to make a material difference to the quality of your sleep!

If you’re inspired by these Best Bits, you can find the full episode in Season 1, Episode 16 where you can hear everything that Russell has to say about this vital subject.

Show Notes

If you’d like to find out more about Russell and the work that he does, visit the Sleep & Circadian Science Institute.

Support Russell’s research by taking part in one of his sleep studies.

Listen to Russell’s fascinating interviews on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, In Our Time and The Life Scientific, or watch his TED Talk.

Check out Russell’s recent books:

• S.W. Lockley, and R.G. Foster, Sleep: A very short introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012.
• R.G. Foster, and L. Kreitzman, Circadian Rhythms: A very short introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2017.

If you want to find out which foods will help you sleep better, there’s a whole chapter on this in my book The Happy Menopause – Smart Nutrition to Help You Flourish

Biography

Professor Russell Foster is the Founder and Director of The Sleep and Circadian Research Institute and Head of Oxford University’s Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and has carried out decades of research into the science of circadian rhythms and sleep cycles. With multiple awards and worldwide recognition for his work and over 250 scientific papers on the subject, there’s no doubt that we’ll be receiving the very best advice to support our sleep.