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When Dr Jemma King put wearables on Australia's Special Forces in 2017, the culture was "sleep when I'm dead". Within months, those same soldiers were showing off their recovery scores and competing over who slept the most. Not because they went soft. Because the data showed sleep was making them faster, sharper and safer, and elite performers chase anything that does that.
Jemma has spent a decade measuring what great sleep unlocks in people whose decisions matter: Special Operations Command, Olympic swimmers, CEOs. Her conclusion is genuinely exciting. Sharp is recoverable at any age, and it doesn't take supplements or gadgets. It takes a handful of deliberate habits the world's best are already using.
Jemma introduces you to the midnight librarian who explains your 3am wake-ups (and how to give her the night off), the express bus that takes you straight to deep sleep, and how to build your own Sleep First formula around your biology and your life.
Your upgrade is waiting.
00:00 It's 3am. You're awake again.
02:05 Two experts, one room at last
04:20 Meet your midnight librarian: why you wake at 3am
07:55 The other 3am suspects: temperature, gut bugs, sugar and alcohol
12:22 The welcome practice: making peace with 3am
15:04 "Mother nature is like the mafia"
16:36 Why the pub sometimes beats the pillow
19:01 Wearables: who should buy one, who should bin one
20:57 The traders who made more money reading their own heartbeat
22:39 The five metrics worth tracking
25:17 Catch the express bus: the case for sleep consistency
29:26 The DEC2 gene and the ruthlessly selfish habits of the world's best
32:19 How Special Forces went from "sleep when I'm dead" to sleep competitions
36:35 The pattern that made a stress scientist write a sleep book
38:14 Your Sleep First formula
40:20 Burnout, insecurity and the six whys
44:27 Kids, dogs and the family bed
50:53 The spoon test: are you sleep deprived?
52:24 Bed temperature, Eight Sleep and why the news wrecks your night
55:37 Why tired brains see threats everywhere
57:23 Testosterone, saunas and protecting the crown jewels
1:02:14 Sleep First and where to find Dr Jemma King
Learn more about Dr Jemma: https://jemmakingbio-pa.com.au/
Buy a copy of Dr Jemma's new book: https://shorturl.at/v3Mt7
Listen to the previous episode with Dr Jemma: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/44-dr-jemma-king-getting-kidnapped-in-russia-working-as-a-stunt-double-and-performing-under-pressure
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