Kirk Parsley, MD – Sleep, Performance & Testosterone

Dr. Kirk Parsley

Dr. Kirk Parsley served as the Undersea Medical Officer at Naval Special Warfare Group One (NSWG-1) from June 2009-Jan 2013. While there he developed and supervised the group’s first sports medicine rehabilitation center.

He is a former SEAL (BUD/s class 164), and a graduate of the military’s medical school in Bethesda, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) in 2004. His internship was in Obstetrics and Gynecology, at Balboa Naval Hospital in 2005. He then completed a Navy residency in Hyperbarics and Diving Medicine in 2006.

Doctor Parsley served as Naval Special Warfare’s expert on Sleep Medicine, and has been a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine since 2006. He is certified in hormonal modulation (Age-Management Medicine) and has worked as a consultant for the Life-Wellness Institute, in San Diego.

Doctor Parsley has lectured extensively on sleep, wellness, and hormonal optimization. He is currently completing a book on sleep optimization.

In this episode we discuss:

• How much sleep is actually enough?
• How to deal with shift work
• How sleep affects all types of performance; cognitive, athletic, physical, decision-making
• How Doc Parsley increased free testosterone in Navy SEALS by 300%
• Sleep is an active process, there are many things going on
• How sleep aids aren’t really putting you to “sleep”
• Can we pay back our sleep debt by getting more on other days?
• The power of napping: Best lengths, effects of each and how much of a role they can play
• The importance of sleep (and naps) for strength athletes or those looking to maximize muscle mass