Most people think of sleep as a passive process, but few understand the dynamic role it plays in building resilience, maintaining performance, and supporting long-term health—especially in high-stress environments. Whether you're a tactical professional, athlete, or executive, learning how to improve your sleep efficiency can help you perform at your best, even under pressure.
In this episode of PERFORM, Dr. Andy Galpin sits down with Dr. Allison Brager, Ph.D., an active-duty Army neuroscientist whose research explores how sleep and circadian rhythms are affected in the most extreme environments on Earth—and beyond. From Antarctica to outer space, Dr. Brager shares how our biology responds to stress and how we can improve our sleep to adapt, recover, and thrive.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Sleep Resilience is Trainable
You can build the capacity to recover from poor or disrupted sleep through behavioral strategies, light exposure, and nutritional timing. Sleep resilience is especially important for those in high-stress roles.
Circadian Rhythm Matters More Than You Think
Chronotype misalignment—when your natural rhythm doesn't match your schedule—can impair performance. Understanding your chronotype helps you align your training, work, and recovery for better results.
Men and Women Sleep Differently
There are key sex-based differences in sleep patterns, sleep onset, and daytime fatigue. Recognizing these biological differences can help optimize sleep strategies across individuals.
Environmental Stress Impacts Sleep Efficiency
From military deployments to late-night flights, high-stress environments disrupt circadian rhythms and reduce sleep quality. Dr. Brager explains how to recover and adapt with practical tools.
Practical Tools to Improve Sleep
Simple changes in light exposure, evening behaviors, and meal timing can significantly improve your sleep quality—even if your schedule is unpredictable or your environment is challenging.
Listen now and explore how understanding your sleep biology can give you a critical edge in performance, recovery, and resilience.
Precision is Power.