{"podcast":{"title":"Feisty Women's Performance","slug":"feisty-women-s-performance-3663324","podcast_index_feed_id":3663324,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/the-womens-performance-podcast/","website_url":"https://livefeisty.com/category/podcasts/feisty-womens-performance-podcast/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/d900689b-0109-41e0-bef3-04f537897623/Copy-of-Feisty-Womens-Performance-Podcast-Series-Template-1.jpg","author":"Dr. Erin Ayala","episode_count":195,"summary":"Tired of fads, quick fixes, and performance advice that wasn’t designed for you? So are we. Feisty Women’s Performance cuts through the noise to bring you credible, science-backed insights to live your best, healthiest, active life. Hosted by Dr. Erin Ayala, this is your go-to resource for tackling the challenges of being an active woman today—whether you’re hoping to PR your next marathon or just trying to understand how much protein women actually need to be eating. We’ll move beyond the male-dominated lens of sport science to deliver honest conversations and actionable advice from women for women, to improve women’s health. Each episode dives deep into one of our four pillars—physiology, nutrition, mental health, and cultural issues—with leading experts to explore topics that are often left undiscussed. If you’re an active woman who cares about your sustainable health, performance growth, and long-term progress, these conversations are for you. No fads, no quick fixes. Just real science and legit experts. Re-launching January 2026.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/feisty-women-s-performance-3663324"},"episode":{"title":"Understanding what makes good sleep with military sleep researcher Dr. Allison Brager","slug":"understanding-what-makes-good-sleep-with-military-sleep-researcher-dr-allison-brager","published_at":"2026-02-02T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/feisty-women-s-performance-3663324/understanding-what-makes-good-sleep-with-military-sleep-researcher-dr-allison-brager","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/feisty-women-s-performance-3663324","url":"https://livefeisty.com/category/podcasts/feisty-womens-performance-podcast/","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/pdcn.co/e/episodes.captivate.fm/episode/8b5ecc00-96d8-4de7-8073-aa8f6c856497.mp3","summary":"In this conversation with Dr. Allison Brager , military sleep researcher and human performance expert, we explore the science of sleep optimization. Dr. Brager debunks common sleep misconceptions, explains gender differences in sleep patterns, and shares practical strategies for maintaining sleep quality while traveling. Whether you're a competitive athlete or someone looking to just get some good sleep (!), this episode offers evidence-based insights that can transform your approach to rest and recovery. Key Takeaways Sleep Misconceptions: The biggest mistake people make is obsessing over perfect sleep ( called\"orthosomnia\" — when our bodies have built-in compensation systems for occasional poor sleep nights [00:05:00] Gender Differences: Women are typically more efficient sleepers and better at handling sleep deprivation than men due to evolutionary adaptations related to motherhood [00:15:30] First Night Effect: When sleeping in a new environment, our brains naturally maintain partial wakefulness (unihemispheric sleep) as a protective mechanism [00:25:00] Travel Strategies: Bringing familiar items like pillows and maintaining consistent routines can significantly improve sleep quality [00:28:45] Simple Effective Sleep Practices: For example: taking a hot shower before bed helps lower core body temperature, promoting sleepiness and better sleep quality [00:30:45] Wearable Technology: Focus on comparing your metrics to your own baseline rather than comparing to others, especially don't compare against those in different age groups [00:45:00] Dr. Allison Brager is a renowned military sleep researcher with expertise in human performance optimization. As the Army's sleep expert, she has conducted extensive research on sleep science while maintaining her own athletic care…","meta_description":"In this conversation with Dr. Allison Brager , military sleep researcher and human performance expert, we explore the science of sleep optimization. Dr. B…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3161,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/feisty-women-s-performance-3663324/episodes/understanding-what-makes-good-sleep-with-military-sleep-researcher-dr-allison-brager/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/feisty-women-s-performance-3663324/understanding-what-makes-good-sleep-with-military-sleep-researcher-dr-allison-brager.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}