To better understand what circadian rhythms mean to athletes, I interviewed Dr. Allison Brager. She is a neurobiologist that specializes in circadian rhythms, sleep, and behavioral genetics research. She is currently the Deputy Chief Science Officer at the JFK Special Warfare Center and School leading the Special Forces research into human performance. Dr. Brager is also an elite athlete herself. She was a professional crossfit team athlete and an 11x gay games gold medalist.
Allison serves on the NCAA task force for Mental Health and Sleep and was a contributor to the NCAA student athlete mental health handbook. She is also the author of Meathead: Unraveling the athletic brain.
In this episode, we touch on the purpose the circadian rhythm serves, the things that can disrupt it, and how we can help to regulate during travel and stressful situations. We also touch on how Dr. Brager turns her research into practice in her athletic pursuits.
Timestamps
- 00:00:00 Intro
- 00:04:34 Circadian Rhythms Basics
- 00:20:29 What Disrupts Circadian Rhythms
- 00:33:21 Pac 12 Move
- 00:39:16 Sleep Depravation vs Phase Shift
- 00:44:51 Behavioral Genetics
- 00:53:17 Tradeoffs for Athletes
- 01:00:43 Lactic Acid
- 01:06:11 Meathead
Links and resources
Allison’s Resources
- https://www.instagram.com/docjockzzz/?hl=en
- Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire – https://qxmd.com/calculate/calculator_829/morningness-eveningness-questionnaire-meq
- https://humsci.stanford.edu/feature/sleep-experts-share-strategies-minimize-jet-lags-effects-college-athlete-performance-and
- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/us/college-football-conference-realignment.html
Affiliates
- Track your health data with Whoop. Get 1 month free – join.whoop.com/exponentialathlete
- Flykitt – fount.bio (Use code “ATHLETEX” for 10% off)