Sleep researcher Dr. Amy Bender discusses the most current evidence-based recommendations for optimizing your sleep for health and athletic performance.
Guest Bio
Amy Bender, PhD
Dr. Bender is the Clinical Program Director of Athlete Services at the Centre for Sleep & Human Performance and is also an adjunct professor of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. She received her PhD and Master of Science degrees in Experimental Psychology from Washington State University in Spokane, WA specializing in sleep EEG. Her current research focuses on the relationship of sleep and recovery on athletic performance in Canadian National Team athletes. Her research interests stem from being an athlete herself; she is a Hall of Fame basketball player, has summited a number of volcanoes, and completed an Ironman in 2009.
In This Episode We Discuss:
- Circadian biology and light/dark cycles
- Effects of artificial light at night
- The importance of daylight exposure early in the day
- Daily vs. weekly sleep quantity
- What exactly is “good quality” sleep?
- Strategy of “banking sleep”
- Assessing and tracking sleep in clients and athletes
- Strategies to mitigate detrimental effects of sleep before competition
- Are there any supplements that actually work for helping sleep?