SNR #209: Amy Bender, PhD - Sleep Better: Practical Evidence-Based Recommendations

Sleep researcher Dr. Amy Bender discusses the most current evidence-based recommendations for optimizing your sleep for health and athletic performance.

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?

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