Russell Foster is a world leading Professor of Circadian Neuroscience and is the Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophtalmology and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford. His research addresses the neuroscience of vision and circadian rhythms, as well as the health consequences of sleep disruption. His work on the discovery of photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in the mammalian retina has revolutionized our understanding of how light entrains our circadian rhythms. Russell is also a Fellow of the Royal Society and Academy of Medical Sciences and has co-written four popular science books on circadian rhythms.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:50) – Importance of biological clocks
(5:36) – Sleep is a temporal compartmentalization
(9:28) – Why light is important
(17:04) – How the body represents time
(22:57) – Chronotypes
(25:50) – Effect of sunrise and sunset on circadian rhythms
(29:28) – Light and circadian rhythms
(33:02) – The master clock of the body
(36:06) – Discovering photoreceptors of the circadian system
(47:40) – Open questions
(51:07) – Hacking your circadian rhythm
(55:41) – Night shift workers
(1:04:04) – Sleep/productivity tradeoff
(1:08:06) – Advice for young scientists
