The Sleep Geek aka James Wilson on how to sleep better (and improve your sporting performance)
Ep 4. How did you sleep last night? If you ever have a bad night's sleep, this episode is for you! James Wilson, aka The Sleep Geek, is a sleep expert and an advocate for poor sleepers, who works with everyone from governments to football teams, helping people like you and me get a better night's sleep. He firmly believes that there's loads anyone can do to improve your sleep (and as a handy by-product, improve your sporting performance).
In our fascinating chat, James talks about:
- His own sleep history and becoming a sleep expert
- How the importance of sleep is overlooked in sport and how this affects athletes' performance
- Whether it matters if you have a bad night's sleep the night before a race
- What constitutes a good night's sleep
- Sleep trackers and whether you need one
- Waking in the night and how to get back to sleep
- How food and drink impact our sleep
- Melatonin supplements and sleeping pills
- How to choose a mattress and pillow
- Blue light (and whether you need those funny glasses)
- How to get children to go to sleep and stay asleep
- Living with a snorer
- Weighted blankets
- Restless leg syndrome
- Snooze button syndrome
- Lightboxes and daylight alarm clocks
James can be found at The Sleep Geek and on social media at @thesleepgeek
He is a co-founder of Being Well which works with people to improve their physical and mental health.
The Finnish bed company he mentions is Unik.
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Music by Aaron Jackson of Broken Oars Podcast.