Lucinda Sykes

My Message

Research shows that poor sleep is a serious problem for Women 50+ -- but sleeping pills aren't the answer. 

I'm a retired Canadian medical doctor on a mission. Women are being harmed by their poor sleep and dependence on sleep medication. They need reliable help to find healthy sleep and stop risking serious drug side-effects.

After 50, more than a third of women say that sleep is a problem. Many depend on nightly sleeping pills, even though research associates the most common sleeping pills with an increased risk for dementia, some cancers, accidents, and premature mortality.

Sleeping pills can't substitute for deep natural sleep. A drugged brain is not a naturally sleeping brain. Pills don't give us the quality sleep we need.

Medical guidelines tell doctors to limit sleeping pill prescriptions to no longer than 2-4 weeks, but this advice is widely ignored. Many patients continue taking pills for months, even years. They feel dependent and don't understand the risks involved.

My mission is to alert women to these risks -- and to show them how they can sleep better naturally, without pills.

It's a message supported by the latest science and best standards of medical practice. But unfortunately, science and medical standards often get overlooked. A wise woman needs to protect herself -- she needs real self-care.

Suggested interview topics:

• Risks of insufficient sleep - research findings
• Side-effects of sleeping pills - research findings
• Simple tips for better sleep
• How to safely stop sleeping pills
• Sleep and menopause

My Background

I'm a Canadian doctor recently retired from teaching medical programs of mindfulness for more than 20 years. I've directed Meditation for Health in Toronto since 1997. One of the clinic's most popular programs was Mindful Sleep.

My interest in sleep goes back to my own family's history of sleep problems, and the insomnia I experienced during my medical training. [See more bio at my coaching website, www.lucindasykesmd.com]

Since retiring, I've devoted myself to sleep coaching for Women 50+. I'm inspired to remember my dear grandmother who developed Alzheimer's disease before she was 60 -- after she took prescribed sleeping pills for many years. Modern research now reveals the link between sleeping pills and Alzheimer's disease.

My Approach

Online, I offer individual sleep coaching for Women 50+.

As well, my group program is Sleep & Be Well -- a 5-week program that I teach online, in collaboration with a colleague in holistic nutrition, Caryl Ayearst.

My work combines Mindfulness with CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia] and Analytical Psychology. My coaching also includes other practical strategies from sleep science & integrative medicine [nutrition, sleep hygiene, aromatherapy, acupressure, yoga, etc).

If your audience includes Women 50+, I'd love to share this message -- to point to their potential for more deep natural sleep. Many women don't realize how much they're losing to poor sleep and sleeping pills.