How to Improve Your Sleep – The Happy Menopause Podcast

Season 1 • Episode 16
Professor Russell Foster, Director of the Sleep & Circadian Research Institute

Sleep can feel like the holy grail for women in midlife – something you’re desperately searching for which is incredibly hard to find. There are many reasons that sleep can be elusive during the menopause – hot flushes, night sweats, palpitations and anxiety can all play their part in disrupting our slumber. And when we don’t get enough sleep, this dramatically affects our health and well-being – leading to fatigue, irritability, poor judgement and loss of creativity; affecting mental health, immune function and even contributing to weight gain. But help is at hand with my latest podcast guest, as I speak to renowned sleep expert Professor Russell Foster who’s just the person we need to help us get our sleep back on track.

Russell 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.

Discover Russell’s 4-pillar approach to getting a good night’s sleep; learn why sleep apps are mostly a waste of time and 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, so tune in to hear what he has to say.

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.

Useful Products & Resources

Read my nutrition blog: Struggling to Sleep?

Check out the insomnia chapter in my book Va Va Voom: the 10-Day Energy Diet

Listen to the fabulous Camilla Sacre-Dallerup and Becks Armstrong, who both have some brilliant calming breathing and mindfulness exercises in their podcast episodes.