Dr. Major Allison Brager is a neuroscientist, a two-time CrossFit Games athlete, and one of the military’s leading experts on sleep and circadian biology. In this episode, host Denise Thomas and co-host Jocelyn Rylee dig in to what happens in the body during sleep, how your chronotype affects your performance, and the importance of sleep for recovery.
They also unpack strategic caffeine dosing, sleep myths, and the direct impact sleep has on your hormones, recovery, mood, and even long-term health risks. Whether you’re training hard or just trying to function better day-to-day, this conversation will change how you think about rest.
Topics Included
What actually happens when we sleep
Chronotypes, circadian rhythms, and ideal training times
Sleep banking, shift work, and real-world application
How sleep affects hormones, mood, and injury risk
The impact of caffeine, alcohol, and blue light
Strategies for better sleep: environment, timing, and habits
Resources Mentioned
Dr. Brager’s book: “Meathead: Unraveling the Athletic Brain”
Power Monkey Camp
CrossFit Open
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire
National Sleep Foundation
Community Highlight:
Jeff Winchester is a middle school counselor just outside of San Diego, California. In 2024, he launched CrossFit La Presa — a nonprofit school affiliate created with full support from his district and school leadership.
La Presa Middle School serves a largely underserved community, where many students face challenges outside the classroom. For Jeff, this program isn’t just about fitness — it’s about offering strength, structure, and connection to kids who need it most.
The results are powerful: students are gaining confidence, teachers are rediscovering their health, and kids who once stayed on the sidelines are now trying out for sports.
Jeff says launching CrossFit La Presa has been one of the most meaningful moments of his 15-year career in education.⠀
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CrossFit is the world’s leading platform for improving health and performance. In the 20 years since its founding, CrossFit has grown from a garage gym in Santa Cruz, California, into the world’s most effective program for improving health and performance through nutrition and exercise. CrossFit is the world’s leading provider of accredited performance-based training courses and certifications and has more than 125,000 credentialed coaches across the world. The program can be modified to welcome people of all ages and abilities and millions of people have already experienced CrossFit’s transformational benefits in more than 13,000 affiliated gyms across 158 countries. CrossFit also directs the CrossFit Games season, beginning with the annual CrossFit Open, through which athletes at every level compete worldwide, and culminating in the CrossFit Games, where top athletes compete for the title of Fittest on Earth®.
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