AltitudeTraining

S2E38: Impacts of Sleep Loss On Pain, Injury-Risk & Neurocognition w Norah Simpson, PhD

SEASON 2, EPISODE #38

Dr. Bubbs interviews Dr. Norah Simpson ,PhD from Stanford University School of Medicine to talk all things sleep. In this episode, Norah discusses why so many people and athletes still struggle with poor sleep quality and quantity despite all the emphasis on sleep in the last 5 years, as well as her recent paper, “Optimizing sleep to maximize performance: implications and recommendations for elite athletes”. She dives into how lack of sleep impacts pain tolerance, injury risk, risk of illness and even the potential effect of altitude training on sleep quality. Norah also shares the sleep roadblocks she sees most in athletes, her favourite tools and tactics to get sleep back on track, and where she sees the evolution of sleep research heading in the next decade. 

Summary of Episode

5:10 – Effects of sleep loss on neurocognitive performance

8:30 – Injury risk, illness susceptibility and sleep loss

11:30 – Altitude training and impacts on sleep

13:00 – Can you catch up on sleep?

15:00 – sleep loss on injury risk

18:00 – impact on altitude training on sleep

21:00 – Norah’s current athlete sleep study

25:45 – sleep tracking

30:00 – importance of sleep wind down routine

32:00 – Is watching TV better than an iPad at night?

35:30 – common athlete sleep roadblocks

39:00 – “Nappuccino” – good or bad?

  

About Dr. Norah Simpson PhD

Norah Simpson PhD is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of the Stanford Sleep Health and Insomnia Program (SHIP), with a clinical focus in psychology, behavioral sleep medicine and athlete well-being. Learn more at www.insomnia.stanford.edu.


Research Paper

Optimizing sleep to maximize performance: implications and recommendations for elite athletes