Ep63 ’How Sleep Affects Sport & Fitness’ with special guest Dr Amy M. Bender

As a soft tissue therapist, when a client comes to you because of pain or poor performance, how much emphasis do you place on their quantity & quality of sleep? How confident would you be in explaining the impact poor sleep can have on pain and performance?

In Ep.63 of the Sports Therapy Association Podcast, we are honoured to be joined by Dr. Amy M. Bender, Director of Clinical Sleep Science at Cerebra, a digital health company in Canada focused on improving access to advanced digital sleep analysis and diagnostic sleep technology.

Dr Bender is a highly respected researcher with written publications, interviews for stories in Oprah Magazine and public speaking appearances including Ted Med talk. Dr Bender has worked with the National Hockey League, Canadian national team athletes & Olympic athletes, and is no stranger to sport herself with pastimes including mountaineering and Ironman Triathlon.

Topics discussed include: 

• How do measure quality of sleep?
• What's the ideal quantity of sleep?
• How accurate are wearable devices that measure sleep quantity and sleep quality?
• Many of us have heard the term Rapid Eye Movement (REM). What is significant about this stage of sleep?
• What are the other stages of sleep?
• How long should we be in the Deep Sleep stage?
• In what ways does exercise improve sleep?
• Why is sleep important for recovery and performance?
• How can lack of sleep reduce concentration and cognitive ability?
• What can people do to improve quality of sleep?
• How does a person's chronotype affect their sleep patterns?
• What are the symptoms of a sleep disorder?
• What should we do if we suspect we or one of our clients has a sleep disorder?

Websites / Social Media
Athlete's Screening Questionnaire: CentreForSleep. 
@sleep4sport Instagram

@sleep4sport Twitter

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All episodes are streamed live to our YouTube channel and remember all soft tissue therapists (non members included) are welcome to join us for the LIVE recording on Tuesdays at 8pm (UK time) on the Sports Therapy Association Facebook Page

Questions? Email: matt@thesta.co.uk