BIO: Dr. Charles Samuels is the Medical Director of the Centre for Sleep & Human Performance in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada who has served as the Vice President Clinical of the Canadian Sleep Society and is the Chairman of the Alberta Medical Association Insomnia Clinical Practice Guideline Committee.
Dr. Samuels is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. He is a well-respected medical educator who speaks internationally on topics related to sleep health and human performance. Dr. Samuels is a member of the Institute of Population Health at the University of Calgary; his research focus is the relationship of sleep to recovery, training and performance in Elite Olympic Athletes.
Dr. Samuels is regarded as an expert in the area of sleep disturbance and health consequences of shift work based on his work with the Calgary Police Service Health and Human Performance Research Initiative, which was a ten-year research project exploring the impact of rotating shift work on the health and performance of police officers. He is also a co-investigator on a similar project that will run from 2015-2017 with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Dr. Charles Samuels, M.D., CCFP, DABSM, is devoted to a good night’s sleep—for everyone. He has committed many years to the study of sleep and recovery and in this podcast, he outlines the importance of sleep and what to do when our sleep is suffering.
Dr. Samuels is a board certified sleep medicine expert, certified with the American Board of Sleep Medicine, as well as the medical director of the Centre for Sleep & Human Performance in Calgary. As a top researcher he has been a primary player in multiple clinical trials from Phase II to Phase IV, and he has worked with some of Canada’s extraordinary athletes on their sleep and recovery.
Dr. Samuels talks about his motivation for getting into the sleep research area, and he recalls a particular night in which he was driving on a low amount of sleep and nearly drove into a lake. From that brush with danger, he was alerted to the true power of sleep and the dangers of inadequate sleep in regard to performance. He decided to dig deeper and began to research more, which led to his development of a passion for sleep science.
Dr. Samuels’ lab, The Centre for Sleep & Human Performance, offers study and consultation for sleep apnea, sleepwalking, insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep phases, movement disorders, sports performance, etc. The sleep guru provides an overview of occupational medicine, and makes a point about workweeks, stating that companies should limit employees’ workweeks to the 40 to 48 hours per week range to ensure their greatest chance for safety and good health. Dr. Samuels outlines proper training and recovery for professional athletes, and great options to help them recover, and maintain better overall health and extend their professional careers in their chosen sport or competition. As president of the Canadian Sleep Society, Dr. Samuels has a responsibility to public health and he works tirelessly to provide the general public with valuable information on sleep and recovery to help them help themselves—and achieve the best health possible
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed