Sleep Sense

Improve Your Sleep, Improve Your Health

When you sleep well you have a much better chance of feeling good.
About life. About yourself. About everything.

 

In Sleep Sense, international sleep expert Dr Katharina Lederle draws on the latest research and her experiences as a sleep therapist to explore the importance of sleep on our health and well-being. And in doing so, she shows how the quality of our sleep is directly connected to the three pillars of a health and well-being; physical health, cognitive performance, and emotional wellbeing. The book answers frequently asked questions to help the reader gain a better understanding of the importance of sleep and the fundamental role sleep plays in your everyday life. It provides practical advice and simple guidelines to help the reader to recognise to optimise their sleep through making positive changes to their daily routine and lifestyle. Whether you are a busy professional, or a new parent, or both, this book will empower you to maintain a healthy, happy emotionally balanced life " naturally.

Includes:
How to find out your individual sleep pattern
How sleep differs between men and women
Why we are poor judges of our own sleepiness
How sleep effects our emotions

Dr Katharina Lederle is a human sleep and fatigue specialist who helps people improve their sleep and live their lives to the full. Katharina gained an MSc in Biosciences in Germany. She then completed a PhD in Human Circadian Physiology & Behaviour (the human body clock) at the University of Surrey, looking at the effects of light on human sleep patterns. Katharina is also trained in Mindfulness and Acceptance Commitment Therapy, which she uses in her work with insomnia clients. Based in London, she has worked with a number of sleep-centred organizations, including Clockwork Research where she advised national and international airlines, emergency helicopter services, petrochemical and mining companies around the world on sleep and fatigue. She also provides sleep consultancy services to a range of businesses, including The Sleep School and pharmaceutical companies. Katharina is co-founder of Somnia, an organization that raises awareness about the importance of healthy sleep and provides one-to-one sessions, sleep workshops and educational talks helping people sleep well and feel good.

Review: Sleep is an area we feel we don't have much control over, but it definitely controls us.  Dr Katharina Lederle helps us understand the inner workings of sleep and how we can take charge and get effective sleep to improve our health and well being, creating a more positive outlook on life.  Insightful and helpful Sleep Sense is a blessing to anyone who struggles to feel motivated and awake in the morning.

Sleep Sense
Exisle Publishing
Author: Dr Katharina Lederle
RRP: $29.99

Interview with Dr Katharina Lederle

Question: What inspired you to write Sleep Sense?

Dr Katharina Lederle: It's my passion to raise awareness for sleep's importance to health and well-being of everyone. I help people understand more about sleep and take the steps right for them to improve their sleep. I decided to write a book because it enables me to reach many more people and hopefully make a valuable difference to their lives (or at least nudge them).


Question: How does sleep directly impact our health?

Dr Katharina Lederle: There are many associations between sleep and physical health. Healthy sleep helps to clear the brain of toxins which accumulated during the day when we were consciously using it. It also keeps our hormones in balance. Take leptin the hormone that give us the sense of fullness and is produced mainly at night, and ghrelin, the hunger hormone which is produced during the day. If we don't sleep their balance is affected we eat not only at night but also the day after. The lack of sleep or rather the staying awake is likely to disturb the internal clock, too, which might further add to the altered relationship between the show hormones. Another example are reproductive hormones which seem to be altered by a lack of sleep. (More research is needed here.)


Question: Can you share one or two of the practical advice included in Sleep Sense, with us?

Dr Katharina Lederle: Preparing for sleep starts when you wake up. During the day in the morning or at lunch get 30min of natural light. In the evening turn of all LED-emitting devices. If you want to watch tv then turn that of at least 30 min before you go to bed. Keep the lights dim during all that time.


Question: What's a typical day like, as a sleep therapist?

Dr Katharina Lederle: A typical day, very good question! (I always ask my clients to tell me about a typical night, and this can be very tricky! ) No two days are the same. There are clinic days when I see clients who are troubled with insomnia. Then there are pure writing days. Mixed in are meetings for different projects and talks to organisations, small businesses, schools and of course answering emails from clients and journalists. However, every day starts or ends with a meditation and I spend time outside either during the morning or at lunch so I get my daily light boost.

Interview by Brooke Hunter

Sleep Sense
Exisle Publishing
Author: Dr Katharina Lederle
RRP: $29.99

https://exislepublishing.com/product/sleep-sense/