One of the most important aspects of athletic performance is something we all do for a third of our lives, but until recently, had rarely been discussed. In the first of this two-part episode, you can hear from one of the very very best sport & exercise physicians–Dr. Cindy Chang (@drchizzle). She explains how sleep influences risk of illness and injury, its effect on sports performance, the challenges of travel for the elite athlete, the impact of a busy schedule on sleep for collegiate athletes, and the role of sleep in concussion care.

In the second episode Dr. Krys Bigosinski (@bigsportsmed) talk about the therapeutic effect of exercise on sleep. Lack of sleep is a modern epidemic. They also discuss the new technologies–wearables–for monitoring sleep. What about daytime napping?

Dr. Chang (@drchizzle) is a Professor in the Departments of Orthopaedics and Family & Community Medicine at UCSF. Prior to this, she has served as president of AMSSM, (@TheAMSSM) was the head team physician for UC-Berkeley. Dr Chang has published many papers and textbook chapters in sports medicine, including co-authoring a chapter titled The Role of Sleep in the Psychological Well Being of Athletes in the book Mental Health in the Athlete: Modern Perspectives and Novel Challenges For The Sports Medicine Provider. She was also active in writing the section on the effect of sleep on mental health in the upcoming AMSSM position statement on Psychological Issues in Athletes.