Prof Guy LeschzinerClinician

Biography

Prof Guy Leschziner is a Consultant Neurologist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, where he works within the Department of Neurology and the Sleep Disorders Centre, and holds the position of Professor of Neurology and Sleep Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London. He was Clinical Lead for the Sleep Disorders Centre at Guy's Hospital — one of Europe's largest sleep units — for over a decade, and has developed it into the UK's largest dedicated multidisciplinary sleep service. He completed his medical training at Magdalen College, Oxford and Imperial College London, and undertook a PhD in the genetics of epilepsy and drug management at Imperial College London and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge. He joined Guy's and St Thomas' as a consultant in 2010 following a fellowship in epilepsy and sleep medicine, and has ongoing research interests in narcolepsy, sleepwalking, Kleine-Levin syndrome, restless legs syndrome and epilepsy. He is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Sleep Medicine (OUP, 2022) and author of two books for a general audience — The Nocturnal Brain and The Man Who Tasted Words — and is a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service on neuroscience topics.

References

1. 1.About — Prof Guy Leschziner PhD FRCP (personal website) — Current clinical roles, NHS base, academic appointment at KCL, training history, research interests, books authored
2. 2.Guy Leschziner | Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust — Confirms NHS consultant appointment at GSTT and clinical scope (sleep disorders, epilepsy, general neurology)
3. 3.Oxford Handbook of Sleep Medicine – Oxford University Press — Confirms editorship of the Oxford Handbook of Sleep Medicine and role as Professor of Neurology and Sleep Medicine at GSTT/KCL
4. 4.Professor Guy Leschziner: Neurologist | One Welbeck — Confirms development of UK's largest dedicated sleep service at Guy's Hospital, private practice at One Welbeck, editorial work
5. 5.Guy Leschziner | ResearchGate profile — Confirms affiliation with GSTT Centre for Adult Sleep Disorders, consultant role from August 2010, and prior clinical lead role for over a decade

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Dementia

Stated areas of expertise

• Sleep disorders (narcolepsy, parasomnias, hypersomnia)
• Epilepsy and seizure medicine
• Neurological sleep medicine
• Restless legs syndrome
• Public health education in neuroscience
• Genetics of neurological conditions

Notable achievements

• Editor of the Oxford Handbook of Sleep Medicine (Oxford University Press, 2022), a comprehensive clinical guide to sleep disorders across specialties. Source ↗
• Developed the multidisciplinary Sleep Disorders Centre at Guy's Hospital into the UK's largest dedicated sleep service over more than a decade as Clinical Lead. Source ↗
• Presenter of the 'Mysteries of Sleep', 'The Senses', and 'Phantoms in the Brain' series on BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service. Source ↗
• Author of The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience and the Secret World of Sleep and The Man Who Tasted Words, published for a general audience. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “Unlike traditional sleeping pills, this drug carries a low risk of dependency and does not cause rebound insomnia when stopped. Concerns have been raised about older sleeping tablets and long-term cognitive decline, but at present we don't see that risk with daridorexant.”

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

• “There's increasing evidence surrounding a lack of sleep's association with cognitive decline later in life. But it's also associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. We also know that it impacts a range of other physiological processes, like your immune system, your respiratory system and so on.”

  consultant neurologist who specialises in sleep disorders · Dementia · 27 Aug 2026 · Do we really need eight hours sleep a night – and what happens if we don’t get it? ↗

Source references

1. NHS access to promising sleeping pill daridorexant is patchy, say doctorstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Do we really need eight hours sleep a night – and what happens if we don’t get it?theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Websitehttps://www.guyleschziner.compublished here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/our-consultants/guy-leschziner
• Xhttps://x.com/guy_leschpublished here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-leschziner-b495868b/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.