As of Spring 2023 updates can be found on my Instagram Page or LinkedIn profile.
Autumn/Winter 2022
Autumn/Winter 2022 was a busy one with no more pre schooler’s at home, which meant more time in the week for me to devote to #sleepmatters! Not my own sleep(!), but further develop collaborations and sleep support work for clients and it has been very enjoyable.
More Sketchnotes have been produced, this time on females sleep and sleep aids. Have a look on my website publications section for these.
I focused more on some 1:1 support work over the winter and it has been great to see the sleep knowledge I help people to understand, have an impact on their sleep and ultimately their quality of life!
It was fantastic to get back to some in person sleep education sessions too. I enjoyed presenting with my colleagues from The Active Women’s Clinic and Go Perfom on female sleep. This session was aimed at clinicians and practitioners working in female health. This topic has gathered momentum and I am receiving more and more requests for webinars on female sleep e.g. Pavelka Wellness and Attached Global. It’s great to see female health being part of a wider dialogue within companies. I’ve also continued to advise journalists on sleep matters for articles and was pleased to contribute to a piece on napping in the Liz Earle Wellbeing magazine.
It was also good to chat to BBC Radio Berkshire about sleep and the Men’s Football World Cup and the challenges late night sport performances can bring.
Mental health and sleep is a popular topic and as such I have brushed up on my mental health first aid knowledge with some training early in 2023.
I’ve also continued with the podcasts contributions and live Instagram reels. One in particular, with The Active Pregnancy Foundation was really interesting where we talked about physical activity and sleep.
More exciting things to come in 2023 so watch this space for Spring updates later in the year.
Summer 2022
A busy summer delivering sleep health webinars, 1:1 sleep support and podcasts. I was excited to collaborate with the talented Tanmay Vora to create a series of Sketch Notes to promote my sleep health education work. The first on ‘Sleep Strategies’ is out now, with more to follow over the coming months.
I’ve had a real focus on female sleep health over recent months and pivotal to this was presenting with the great practitioners from The Active Women’s Clinic on Female Health Matters. The session was for coaches, athletes and practitioners working with female athletes and was very well received. We’re now planning the next session’s topic for Autumn 2022.
Continuing with the female sleep health theme, it was a pleasure to be a guest on Gabby Logan’s Podcast ‘The Mid Point’ where we talked about sleep health in midlife, the change of routine after the school holidays and how we can prepare ourselves for better sleep once the holidays are over!
I also supported a local charity Flint House Rehabilitation with an education session on sleep health in rehabilitation. It was great to hear the questions from practitioners supporting police officers back to health and full duties.
Am now looking forward to a winter of more writing, some exciting collaborations lined up and some good sleep!
Autumn 2021/Winter 2022
Well we’re nearing Spring 2022 and it feels like its been a long winter! Sleep work has been progressing well with many webinars producing sleep health education to a variety of clients. I was pleased to return to Cambridge University Sport (this time virtually - thanks to Covid19) and speak to their latest cohort of student athletes. This population are certainly compromised in their sleep and it was great to be able to help them learn how to enhance their sleep health whilst also performing in their sport and studies.
Shift work and metal health and sleep have also featured quite heavily in my sleep webinars over the winter. Sadly a side affect of the pandemic has unfortunately in some cases been a negative effect on sleep. Luckily support mechanisms exist for this and more and more information is out there to help people overcome such issues through my Sleep articles and The Sleep Charity.
I also presented a public talk for the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) National Conference which was received well, with some interesting questions around student sleep again. This is such an important area, requiring education to not only students, but parents and teachers too. A highlight was Chairing the live discussion by international experts on sleep and athletic performance. An area that has grown in knowledge and insight since I first gathered an interest many years ago!
I have also enjoyed some CPD events through the Royal Society of Medicine and learning more about the detail behind sleep medicine interventions.
I was grateful to BASES for reviewing my successful re-accreditation as a High Performance Sport practitioner, with my work here focusing on supporting athletes with their sleep health queries and also developing practitioners of the future through the BASES accreditation scheme.
Part of the last few months has been spent working with national governing bodies of sport on their Clean Sport Education strategies. It’s been great to have dialogue with senior management teams on their strategy work to date.
I’m now looking forward to brighter days in the Spring and some in person sleep health education sessions with a wider group of audiences over the coming months.
Summer 2021
Feels like the Summer was extended for a little while there but the rain has returned and Autumn is fast approaching!
This summer was all about Sport. From the exciting return of Wimbledon after last years Covid19 cancellation, to the Olympics and Paralympics, an interesting Tour de France and everything in-between it was fantastic to see Sport very much back on show.
I was asked to present to England Rugby (Women) on sleep and performance ahead of their World Cup campaign in New Zealand (edit - postponed) and also spent some time reflecting on my work so far this year, not least the juggle of home schooling and promoting sleep health education. My work supporting The Sleep Charity has continued through webinars, workshops and sitting on their Advisory Board.
I was really pleased I took the time for some development over the summer and participated in the Oxford University Masterclass in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia (CBTi). The course was delivered by the renowned sleep expert, Professor Colin Espie, and colleagues and was incredibly useful in developing my skills and knowledge in the area.
Outside of my sleep work I have been accepted onto the BASES Outreach Project Team so am looking forward to engaging with others in finding ways to improve the outreach of Sport and Exercise Sciences throughout the UK.
Finally, I’ve spent part of the summer educating National Governing Bodies of Sport on how to write Clean Sport strategies for UK Anti Doping’s assurance framework. This is a big piece of work for NGB’s of Sport and a step closer to improving Clean Sport education of British athletes.
Looking forward to the Autumn now with more sleep workshops to deliver and a focus on consolidating the sleep topics I regularly get asked questions about. Watch this space!
Spring 2021
We’re only just into Spring and it’s been a busy one already! It was an honour to be asked to be part of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences focus on International Women’s Day. We talked about our careers and offered advice to those wanting a career in Sport and Exercise Science. Have a read here.
I was pleased to contribute the the talented @Periodoftheperiod podcast in March where we had a very interesting discussion around sleep and female health. Have a listen here: SE1 Bonus Episode#1: Sleep & the female athlete. (buzzsprout.com).
It was also Sleep Awareness Week in March and I was delighted to present, for The Sleep Charity, a number of webinars to corporate partners interested in helping their employees improve their sleep health. I also added another article to my LinkedIn sleep series, this time focusing on some of the common questions I get asked relating to sleep aids Sleep aids: fact or fiction? | LinkedIn.
I’m looking forward to more sleep delivery over the spring and of course the opportunity to see people in real life again (within Covid guidelines)!
Winter 2020
The obvious has meant that Winter this year has been a culmination of protecting family, juggling home, school and work life, alongside planning and delivery for the new year and all the opportunities 2021 will bring. As we head out of Winter and look forward to a brighter year ahead, I can reflect on the last few months with a sense of pride in that I have continued to deliver webinars on Sleep, knowing that I have helped people improve their Sleep strategies for better work productivity and to deal with the the many challenges the Covid-19 lockdown has brought us. I was also featured in The Sport and Exercise Scientist as a profile of my work to date in the Sports Science industry, not least something to make me feel a little old! So as we head into Spring 2021 I am looking forward to expanding my sleep knowledge further, providing more resources in my LinkedIn Sleep Series and helping the nation to sleep a little better through work supporting The Sleep Charity. Roll on the sunshine!
Autumn 2020
Autumn has continued to bring clients asking for sleep expertise and also some exciting projects relating to strategy education with governing bodies of sport through my work with UK Anti Doping. Along with this, I have been asked to become a member of the new advisory board for The Sleep Charity. It’s good to be more involved in promoting sleep health and helping the nation to sleep better. I also developed my sleep series on LinkedIn with an article relating to daily rhythms - especially important in the current situation with Covid-19 and the second lockdown. I also had two articles published in Autumn edition of The Sport and Exercise Scientist relating to BASES Laboratory Accreditation and Practitioner Accreditation. Top tips for those wanting to apply!
Summer 2020
What a whirlwind of a summer! Despite the pandemic and obvious challenges the UK lockdown brought, have been busy developing networks and planning for the winter and upcoming projects. I was delighted to have been awarded a BASES Fellowship. A mark of how long I’ve been in the sport industry(!) and recognition of my commitment to ensuring the quality and impact of Sport Science practitioners and facilities.
Spring 2020
Following a recent focus on my sleep knowledge, I wrote some articles for LinkedIn on ‘Sleep Strategies’. I’ve updated these recently to include information on sleep extension strategies and, in light of the Corona Virus, some information on sleep and your immune system.
In addition, I’ve produced some exciting presentations during the Spring, including during lockdown. The beauty of my presentations are they can be delivered in person or via a webinar, which lends itself to lockdown learning well!
March 2020: Sleep Seminar: Go Perform How can we deliver on all aspects of our lives consistently, optimally and persistently? One secret weapon that can help us with having the energy to deliver, when it matters, is sleep.
May 2020: Morning Gloryville Webinar: Filling our Energy Pot
May 2020: Headstock Live! Sleep Strategies - interactive session . Rescheduled for Spring 2021 due to Covid-19
June 2020: Pavelka Wellness Sleep and Physical and Mental health https://twitter.com/SarahLGilchrist/status/1270387513069318149
June 2020: The CSuite Podcast. Data Analytics in Sport. A great discussion on the use of data analytics within sports. This specially extended show shares examples of how data and technology can be beneficial from grassroots initiatives to top tier professional sports. I talk about my work in high performance sport and big data sets and how we used my work in sleep to inform sports.
I’ve signed up to The Sleep Council’s initiative of promoting healthy sleep. You can too! Signing up to the Sleep Equality Charter is a voluntary commitment addressing the growing issue of sleep deprivation and fatigue among all age groups and how to tackle it. Working together we can make a real difference to the lives of adults and children struggling with lack of sleep.
Outside of my sleep work I’ve committed to being Chair of the Accreditation Committee for the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES). I’m excited about how BASES is developing accreditation pathways and the enthusiasm of those applying is encouraging. It’s a privilege to see future generations of sport and exercise scientists developing their careers.
Winter 2020
Happy New Year! Having enjoyed a lovely family break over the holidays, I’m jumping right into 2020 with renewed vigour and motivation for some exciting projects over the Spring. Check out this page for updates but, for the time being, I wish you good sleep and recovery from the festivities and a happy and healthy 2020.
Autumn 2019
I’ve enjoyed a busy Autumn focusing on sleep and performance.
It was a pleasure to present on sleep and performance to Cambridge University’s athlete cohort recently. A fantastic group of athletes with some engaging and insightful questions https://twitter.com/JLee_Row/status/1189276837765099520
My work with the Association for Coaching has been developing. I wrote an article on sleep and performance for their quarterly magazine https://twitter.com/SarahLGilchrist/status/1189214721750306816 and I’m looking forward to a follow up webinar on the topic before Christmas https://twitter.com/ACoaching/status/1191723174813196288
Performance Fest in London was a fantastic event from Planet K2 https://www.planetk2.com/2019/09/12/performancefest-lounge-2019 If you get the chance to go to the 2020 roll out, then do it!
Meanwhile if you’re wanting a good podcast to listen then here is the one! https://www.supportingchampions.co.uk/podcast/episode/2d698f9d/048-dave-smith-on-choosing-to-live Amazing insights from an elite athlete choosing to live through experiencing multiple oncology surgeries https://davidsmithathlete.com