Stress-Free Longevity Episode 14: Understanding Sleep Health with Doctor Allie Hare
Episode Overview
In this comprehensive conversation, Dr Allie Hare, one of the UK’s leading sleep specialists and current president of the British Sleep Society, explores the fascinating connections between our gut bacteria, lifestyle choices, and sleep quality. Dr Hare challenges conventional wisdom about sleep optimisation, revealing why trying too hard to perfect your sleep can actually make it worse, and shares evidence-based insights on everything from the gut-brain-sleep connection to why women’s sleep struggles don’t have to be accepted as normal. This episode offers a refreshing perspective on sleep health that prioritises simplicity and science over trends and gadgets.
Key Sleep Health Insights:
- The Gut-Brain-Sleep Connection: How trillions of bacteria in your gut produce neurotransmitter-like substances and follow their own circadian rhythm, directly influencing your sleep quality and timing
- Sleep Perfectionism Backfires: The phenomenon of “orthosomnia” – where obsessing over sleep data and trying to optimise every aspect of sleep actually creates sleep problems in people who previously slept well
- Regular Schedule Trumps Sleep Hacks: Why having consistent bedtimes and wake times matters more than avoiding caffeine or screens, and how irregular schedules disrupt your body’s natural zeitgebers (time givers)
- Exercise Timing Matters: New research from 15,000 participants showing that intense exercise within four hours of bedtime delays sleep onset, whilst any exercise done earlier improves sleep quality
- Focus on Joy as well as Stress Management: A revolutionary approach to sleep health that emphasises cultivating positive emotions alongside managing stress, as happy people naturally engage in sleep-promoting behaviours
- Women’s Sleep Challenges Have Solutions: From menopause-related sleep disruption affecting 70% of women to newborn sleep chaos, these issues aren’t inevitable and evidence-based treatments exist
Expert Sleep Health Takeaways
- Maintain consistent bedtimes and wake times – this helps reset your circadian clock and supports your gut bacteria’s natural rhythm
- Avoid intense exercise within four hours of bedtime – but any exercise done earlier in the day will improve your sleep quality
- Trust how you feel over sleep tracker data – if you wake up refreshed and function well during the day, ignore what your device says
- Eat Mediterranean-style foods regularly – focus on fibre, healthy fats, and plant polyphenols to support your gut-brain-sleep connection
- Stop eating two hours before bedtime – allow your digestive system to rest whilst you sleep
- Pursue activities that bring you joy – spend time with friends, listen to music, engage in real-world connections rather than focusing on stress management
- Keep sleep routines simple – avoid becoming dependent on multiple supplements, gadgets, or complex rituals
- Seek professional help if needed – if you’re doing the basics right but sleep still isn’t satisfying, don’t just accept it
About Our Guest
Dr Allie Hare is a consultant in sleep medicine based in London and the current president of the British Sleep Society. She is also co-founder of Grace London and Grace Sleep, where she helps individuals with sleep disorders and those wanting to improve their sleep health for long-term wellbeing. Dr Hare’s clinical practice focuses on treating patients with complex sleep issues, whilst her research interests include the relationship between sleep, gut health, and overall wellness. Her expertise spans everything from sleep disorders and women’s sleep health to the psychological factors that influence sleep quality.
Visit Dr Allie Hare’s Academic Profile
Watch the ‘Sleep Health’ interview
Sleep Health Resources
The UK’s premiere private sleep clinic: https://gracesleep.clinic/
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