Show 1047: How to Sync Your Body Clock to Get the Sleep You Need

Our daytime functioning depends in large measure on the sleep we get at night. No doubt that helps explain why we spend approximately 36 percent of our lifetimes sleeping. How can we embrace bedtime instead of resenting it?

How to Set Your Body Clock:

Our body clocks need bright natural light to set them, so spending all of our time indoors can disrupt our rhythm. In addition, being exposed to light instead of darkness at night interferes with natural patterns of sleep and wakefulness. How can you establish a better environment for getting the sleep you need?

Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Perhaps you are already getting adequate sleep. How would you know? If you need an alarm clock, find it hard to wake up and crave caffeine in the morning, you might need more sleep. If you love to sleep in on weekends and your family suggests you are irritable or impulsive, you probably need more sleep. Find out why you should make sleep a priority. How does getting the sleep you need benefit your health?

This Week's Guest:

Russell G. Foster, BSc, PhD, is Professor of Circadian Neuroscience and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. He is also Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology.