Doctors' Notes: Napping
What's Up Docs?
BBC
4.4 • 659 Ratings
🗓️ 21 October 2025
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about napping with Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford.
They want to know why some people drift off easily while others struggle to shut their eyes. Beyond that, they explore how our ability and even our desire to nap changes depending on our age, and how it differs across cultures and regions of the world. From siestas in Spain to power naps in Japan, and from toddlers who fight sleep to adults who crave it, we’ll explore what napping says about our bodies, our habits, and our society.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or Whatsapp on 08000 665 123.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Professor Russell Foster Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar and Jo Rowntree Editor: Kirsten Lass Researcher: Grace Revill Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Social Media: Leon Gower Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Ruth Rainey
At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Transcript
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| 0:42.9 | Chris and I are about to be back with Russell Foster, who's staying with us. |
| 0:47.7 | Russell is a professor of Oxford. |
| 0:49.5 | He's the head of Oxford's Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology. |
| 0:56.5 | He's a fellow of Brazenose College. He's written lots of popular science books. His most recent one is Lifetime, the new science of the |
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