Episode
The Science of Sleep High Performers Swear By, From Special Forces To CEOs | Dr Jemma King
- Podcast
- Performance Intelligence
- Published
- Jul 15, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3766
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/a2344f15
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Summary
The best performers in the world have found a competitive edge that's completely free. You can use it too, and it starts tonight. 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…