The Science of Sleep: Better Rest, Better Performance
Charlotte Edelsten
Dr Charlotte Edelsten (PhD) is a Performance Sleep Specialist. Her research focuses on sleep in extreme and complex environments, and how sleep deprivation impacts both cognitive and physical performance.She has worked both clinically and as a researcher in the world of sleep for almost 20 years and much of her time is currently spent working with professional sports teams and athletes where she works to improve pragmatic, environmental and cognitive issues surrounding sleep, but she optimises sleep so clients and athletes can use it as the performance enhancing tool that it is. She makes the science of sleep accessible, understandable and engaging.
- Recording: Yes
- Language: English
- Duration: 45 min / 15 min
Session Summary
How much attention do you pay to your sleep and recovery? Do you notice the impact it has on your mood, health and performance? Why is the topic of sleep so popular at the moment and how does sleep underpin all of our other biological functions.
In this expert session, Charlotte will explain the mechanisms that make us sleep and what happens when these systems are disrupted. She will show you how you can harness the science of sleep to improve your performance… whether that is in the workplace, at home or physically.
Interaction
Based on reflection and participation
1. Opening Reflection
2. Myth or Fact Activity
3. Fatigue Self-Assessment
4. Decision-Making Scenario
5. Performance Upgrade Commitment
Key Learnings
1. Explain What Sleep Is
- Describe basic sleep stages
- Understand the biological functions of Sleep stages (NREM and REM)
2. Identify What Happens When Sleep Is Insufficient
- Recognize physical, hormonal, and cognitive impacts
- Understand how sleep loss affects stress and metabolism
3. Recognize the Workplace Cost of Fatigue
- Understand how sleep deprivation impairs leadership
- Identify decision-making blind spots
- Connect fatigue to productivity and team dynamics
4. Apply Sleep Strategies for Performance
- Implement at least three evidence-based sleep improvements
- Use sleep strategically before important work demands
- Reduce behaviours that impair sleep quality
5. Reframe Sleep as a Performance Multiplier
- Shift mindset from “sleep is optional” to “sleep is strategic”
Detailed session description
“Sleep isn't lost time. It's where performance is built.”
Sleep is not recovery time from work, nor should it be “something we do when we have time”, it is a performance multiplier. High-performing individuals and organizations treat sleep as a strategic asset, not a lifestyle luxury. In corporate environments, chronic sleep restriction is often normalized and even rewarded. However, neuroscience and performance science consistently show that insufficient or poor-quality sleep directly impairs cognition, mood, workplace performance and ultimately long term health.
This session reframes sleep from a passive activity to an active performance strategy, grounded in both neuro- and behavioural science. We will explore sleep as a biological necessity and a performance-enhancing tool and participants will gain foundational knowledge of:
- What is sleep?
- Why do we sleep?
- What happens physically, hormonally, and cognitively when sleep is insufficient.
- How to leverage sleep strategically to improve performance
Other Sessions by this Speaker
This speaker has no other session at the moment.
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