Sleep. It’s the underpinning of soooo much of your health.

If you can’t sleep well, it impacts everything…it impacts your exercise, your nutrition, your mental health, your metabolism - all of it. And I know for a fact that so many women listening right now struggle to fall asleep at night, struggle to stay asleep, and simply don’t get the sleep that their body needs to operate at its best.

Which is exactly why I’ve asked my good friend and reknowned Doctor of Sleep Medicine on the show with us today.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthew S. Brock is the Medical Director of the Sleep Disorders Center in San Antonio, which is the largest sleep center in the United States Department of Defense. He also serves as the Sleep Medicine Consultant to the U.S. Air Force Surgeon General and is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Uniformed Services University. Dr. Brock is a leader in clinical medicine and research in the Air Force and has received countless awards for his work in this field.

Needless to say, prepare to have all of your sleep struggles solved.

And before we hop in and talk about exactly what to do be a better sleeper, I have to insert that the views that Dr. Brock expresses are his own and not the official stance of the Air Force and the Department of Defense. OK.

Questions in this interview…

Dr. Brock, you have literally traveled the world. Of all the countries you have visited around the world, who has the best and who has the worst sleep habits? And why?

A few months ago, I had Esther Blum, a menopause expert, on the show. And one thing she said that shocked everyone the most was how at the crux of our metabolism issues and even our weight gain issues as we age was a lack of good sleep. It seemed to underpin almost everything about our health. It almost seemed like no matter what we do with our nutrition or exercise, if we don’t get good sleep we’re fighting an uphill battle.

• Why is sleep so pivotal to how our bodies operate? What is happening when we’re sleeping that has such a massive impact on our health?

The other day, I asked the ladies in my audience what they struggle with the most when it comes to sleep, and I’m really hoping you can help us solve these struggles a little bit. There were two big things: 1) Not being able to fall asleep, 2) Not being able to stay asleep (this second one seemed to be the bigger issue). So let’s tackle the first one:

• What’s going on when we can’t fall asleep at night, and what can we do to fix this?

Let’s tackle the second issue:

• What’s going on when we fall asleep fine, but then wake up around 2, 3, or 4am and can’t get back to sleep? What can we do to fix this?
• Why do we sometimes wake up several times a night?
• How much “deep sleep” do we need each night and how can we increase this “deep sleep” stage?
• Can you “make up” sleep?
• If you are aiming for 7 hours, but only get 6 hours one night, can you make up for it by getting 8 hours the next night?
• Can you make up missed sleep by taking a nap?
• I’m a napper - how beneficial are naps, really?
• BIG TAKEAWAY: What is one simple thing that we can all do tonight (and hopefully from here on out as a habit) to get better sleep?

More Resources

CBT-i Coach app on Google Play

Insomnia Coach app

MZOO Sleep Mask

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