Prof Colin EspieAcademic

Biography

Professor Colin Espie is Professor of Sleep Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford, where he founded the Experimental & Clinical Sleep Medicine research programme in the Sir Jules Thorn Sleep & Circadian Neurosciences Institute and serves as Clinical Director of the Oxford Online Programme in Sleep Medicine. He qualified as a Clinical Psychologist in 1980 and, before moving to Oxford in 2013, was founding Director of the University of Glasgow Sleep Centre from 1995 to 2012. His research expertise centres on the assessment and treatment of sleep disorders — particularly insomnia — using Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutics (CBTx), and on the relationships between sleep, mental health, and metabolic health. He co-founded the digital therapeutics company Big Health and its Sleepio programme, which in 2022 became the first-ever digital therapeutic to receive NICE guidance, confirming clinical and cost-effectiveness for insomnia treatment on the NHS. He has published over 350 scientific papers and served as campaign spokesperson for sleep in the NHS 'Every Mind Matters' public health campaign launched by Public Health England in 2020.

References

1. 1.Colin Espie — Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford — Current role, title, research programme, academic positions, publication count, Big Health co-founding, NHS Lanarkshire honorary position
2. 2.Colin Espie — University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division — Full list of roles, fellowship memberships, awards including Carskadon (2017) and Peter Hauri (2021), publications list
3. 3.Sleepio is the first-ever digital therapeutic to receive NICE guidance — Big Health — Sleepio achieving NICE guidance (MTG70) in 2022; Espie's role as co-founder and Chief Scientist of Big Health
4. 4.Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award — Sleep Research Society — Confirms Espie as 2017 recipient of the Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Insomnia diagnosis and treatment
• Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)
• Digital therapeutics and NHS access
• Sleep and mental health
• Sleep public health policy
• Sleep medicine education and training

Notable achievements

• Co-founded Big Health and developed Sleepio, which in May 2022 became the first-ever digital therapeutic to receive NICE guidance (MTG70), confirmed as clinically effective and cost-saving for the NHS. Source ↗
• Awarded the Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award by the Sleep Research Society in 2017. Source ↗
• Awarded the Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award by the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine in 2021. Source ↗
• Served as campaign spokesperson for sleep for the NHS 'Every Mind Matters' initiative launched by Public Health England in 2020, developing the '5 Principles of Good Sleep Health'. Source ↗
• Founded the University of Glasgow Sleep Centre (1995–2012) and is Emeritus Professor in the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “What's more pressing is the continued lack of access to the first-line treatment for insomnia, CBT-I. Access to second-line options like daridorexant matters, but patients deserve the most evidence-based care – and in this condition, that means therapy, not tablets.”

  Oxford sleep medicine expert · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS access to promising sleeping pill daridorexant is patchy, say doctors ↗

Source references

1. NHS access to promising sleeping pill daridorexant is patchy, say doctorstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/team/colin-espie
• Websitehttps://colinespie.compublished here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/colin-a-espie-9a63406

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