Want to perform better tomorrow at anything you do? Then get a good night’s sleep tonight. “Sleep plays a critical role in restoration for humans; it is the housekeeping process for our physiology that allows us to restore and start the next day,” says sleep expert Sahil Chopra, MD, today’s guest on Healthy Longevity with Florence Comite MD.

Dr. Chopra is co-founder and chief medical officer for Empower Sleep, a virtual sleep care program that makes personalized multi-night sleep analysis and treatment accessible from home.

Nearly 40% of adults report falling asleep during the day without meaning to at least once a month. Also, an estimated 50 to 70 million Americans have chronic, or ongoing, sleep disorders, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“If people don’t sleep well, the likelihood of having cardiovascular disease … is higher, the possibility of cancer is six-fold higher,” says Chopra. “Growth hormone levels are lower; cortisol dysregulation is higher. Circadian rhythms, if they are misaligned, result in a compromised metabolic state. REM sleep plays a critical role in emotional stability.”

If you’re suffering from brain fog or nodding off at your desk after lunch, you’ll want to tune in to discover how to dramatically improve your health and health trajectory by improving your sleep habits.

You’ll learn:

* Sleep debt builds slowly, so you may not recognize what it’s doing to you.

* Why a one-night sleep study is not an effective way to diagnose a sleep disorder.

* Sleep trackers like Empower Sleep’s medical-grade ring and consumer models like the Oura Ring provide patients with real-time analysis of their sleep quality in their own bed without spending a restless night in a sleep lab wired to a machine.

* Poor sleep is a gut punch, affecting the gut microbiome by disrupting the GI tract’s normal nightly slow-down, which allows its epithelial lining to repair and recover.

* Lack of sleep compromises the immune system. Studies show that sleep-deprived people (getting four to six hours of sleep) don’t respond to vaccines as well as people who get adequate sleep (seven to eight hours).

* During deep sleep stages, blood flow to the brain peaks through the glymphatic system, which clears the beta amyloid and tau proteins that are believed to play a role in Alzheimer’s dementia.

* What to do an hour before bedtime and within 15 minutes of waking to reset a healthy circadian rhythm.

* Remedies for restless leg syndrome, including new technology that stimulates nerves in the legs to make the brain think that your lower limbs are moving.

* And much more!

About Florence Comite, MD

Dr. Comite began her medical journey at Yale University School of Medicine and continued at Yale with a residency in medicine. She completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology (multidisciplinary training incorporating pediatrics, gynecology, and andrology) at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She remained at the National Institutes of Health as a senior clinical research associate before joining the Yale faculty as an associate professor in endocrinology. During her 25-year faculty tenure, Dr. Comite founded and directed Women’s Health at Yale.

In 2005, she launched her bespoke medical practice, Comite Center for Precision Medicine & Healthy Longevity, in New York City and subsequently expanded offices to Palo Alto and Miami Beach.

Through her medical practice and decades of clinical research, Dr. Comite recognized that all humans have inherited a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism (a glucose disorder leading toward diabetes), which is accelerated by aging and the natural decline of the hormones testosterone and estrogen, which begins around age 30.

Dr. Comite’s podcast delivers the truth about your health—that age-related disease begins early in life at the cellular level. By slowing and even reversing the biological aging process, we can stay active and in great health for life. She interviews renowned physicians, researchers, and thought leaders offering surprising insights and practical tips that listeners can use to improve their own health trajectory.

Longevity isn’t just a roll of the genetic dice; it’s something you can actively shape. By building a plan to expand your healthspan, you’re investing in your future self, ensuring that as you age, you continue to feel strong, keep your brain sharp, and live life to the fullest. Being proactive is the point of longevity medicine, which takes the best parts of conventional healthcare and wellness and helps you play an active role in your health like never before, says Delphine Le Grand, an entrepreneur in the booming longevity space. Delphine is a bridge builder, fostering partnerships with early-stage companies and longevity physicians to bring personalized, preventative care models to market. Join my conversation with Delphine as we explore this “cultural moment” that longevity medicine is currently enjoying and how it will impact you.

You’ll learn:

· The longevity medicine ecosystem is still in its infancy, but hang on for an explosion of technology, bioscience breakthrough, and more that will make living well beyond 100 years common.

· The first step in building a plan to lengthen your healthspan to match your lifespan is to know your body and understand what it’s telling you at the cellular level.

· Bio data is important but knowing what to do with that information to improve your health is essential. And that’s the piece of the puzzle that’s missing—unless you know where to look.

· The biggest breakthrough in reducing chronic cardiometabolic disease will come from reversing the carbohydrate metabolism disorder that affects 99 percent of human beings.

· To improve your health tomorrow, discover what’s holding you back from living in optimal health today. Is it poor sleep, unhealthy eating, insufficient exercise, or stress? Identify your nemesis and overcome it.

About Florence Comite, MD

Dr. Comite began her medical journey at Yale University School of Medicine and continued her training there with a residency in medicine. She completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology (multidisciplinary training incorporating pediatrics, gynecology, and andrology) at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She remained at the National Institutes of Health as a senior clinical research associate before joining the Yale faculty as an associate professor in endocrinology. During her 25-year faculty tenure, Dr. Comite founded and directed Women’s Health at Yale.

In 2005, she launched her bespoke medical practice, Comite Center for Precision Medicine & Healthy Longevity, in New York City and, subsequently expanded offices to Palo Alto and Miami Beach.

Through her medical practice and decades of clinical research, Dr. Comite recognized that all humans have inherited a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism (a glucose disorder leading toward diabetes), which is accelerated by aging and the natural decline of the hormones testosterone and estrogen, which begins around age 30.

Dr. Comite’s podcast delivers the truth about your health—that age-related disease begins early in life at the cellular level. By slowing and even reversing the biological aging process, we can stay active and in great health for life. She interviews renowned physicians, researchers, and thought leaders, offering surprising insights and practical tips that listeners can use to improve their own health trajectory.

Next on Healthy Longevity with Florence Comite

Aug. 19: Dean Ornish, MD, world-renowned pioneer of lifestyle medicine, on practical steps to reverse chronic disease.

Trouble with arousal or orgasm? Low (or no) libido? Dryness and painful intercourse? Nearly half of all women will experience sexual dysfunction or intimacy issues like these at some point in their lives. Men suffer from some of these problems, too. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Advances in sexual health medicine offer exciting new solutions for these common obstacles to a healthy (and hot) sex life. Today’s Healthy Longevity guest is Carolyn DeLucia, MD, a former OBGYN, who’s now helping thousands of women and men rekindle their sexuality at her practice, The Secret Orchid, in Hillsborough, NJ. Dr. DeLucia uses non-surgical techniques such as laser and sound-wave therapy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and hormone optimization to jumpstart libido, increase vaginal lubrication, achieve more intense orgasms, and improve overall self-confidence and satisfaction. Join me as we explore the new medicine of sexual pleasure.

You’ll learn:

· Today, women are much more open about their sexual health, thanks to social media, but there’s far too much misinformation online (some of it dangerous, most of it useless). Get your advice from experts who understand the science and recognize that every human is unique.

· Sexual health problems are more common than you might think. Sixty percent of women experience vaginal atrophy. A third of women suffer from urinary incontinence and 45 percent of them refrain from intimacy due to the shame.

· Instead of doing thousands of Kegels every day, laser therapy and electromagnetic stimulation of the pelvic floor strengthen the muscles surrounding the bladder and improve urinary control.

· In addition to boosting a woman’s libido, testosterone cream applied to the back of the knee helps women put on lean muscle and lose fat. (An oral testosterone pill is currently being tested.)

· Os and Ahhs: A PRP therapy called the “O-Shot,” improves blood flow and lubrication, increases sex drive, heightens arousal, and makes orgasms more intense. The O-Shot involves taking a small amount of blood from the arm and processing it to concentrate platelet-rich plasma, which is injected into the numbed clitoris, labia, and G-spot. The result: improved blood flow and lubrication, increased sex drive, heightened arousal, and more intense orgasms. A similar PRP therapy, the “P-Shot,” is available for male sexual dysfunction.

· Part of helping women remain active and willing participants in their intimate lives is keeping their partner active, too.

· An active sex life is terrific for building self-esteem and overall health.

About Florence Comite, MD

Dr. Comite began her medical journey at Yale University School of Medicine and continued with at Yale with a residency in medicine. She completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology (multidisciplinary training incorporating pediatrics, gynecology, and andrology) at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She remained at the National Institutes of Health as a senior clinical research associate before joining the Yale faculty as an associate professor in endocrinology. During her 25-year faculty tenure, Dr. Comite founded and directed Women’s Health at Yale.

In 2005, she launched her bespoke medical practice, Comite Center for Precision Medicine & Healthy Longevity, in New York City and, subsequently expanded offices to Palo Alto and Miami Beach.

Through her medical practice and decades of clinical research, Dr. Comite recognized that all humans have inherited a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism (a glucose disorder leading toward diabetes), which is accelerated by aging and the natural decline of the hormones testosterone and estrogen, which begins around age 30.

Dr. Comite’s podcast delivers the truth about your health—that age-related disease begins early in life at the cellular level. By slowing and even reversing the biological aging process, we can stay active and in great health for life. She interviews renowned physicians, researchers, and thought leaders offering surprising insights and practical tips that listeners can use to improve their own health trajectory.