Performance Intelligence

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 dead" to sleep competitions
36:35 The pattern that made a stress scientist write a sleep book
38:14 Your Sleep First formula
40:20 Burnout, insecurity and the six whys
44:27 Kids, dogs and the family bed
50:53 The spoon test: are you sleep deprived?
52:24 Bed temperature, Eight Sleep and why the news wrecks your night
55:37 Why tired brains see threats everywhere
57:23 Testosterone, saunas and protecting the crown jewels
1:02:14 Sleep First and where to find Dr Jemma King
Learn more about Dr Jemma: https://jemmakingbio-pa.com.au/
Buy a copy of Dr Jemma's new book: https://shorturl.at/v3Mt7
Listen to the previous episode with Dr Jemma: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/44-dr-jemma-king-getting-kidnapped-in-russia-working-as-a-stunt-double-and-performing-under-pressure

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Nic White played 77 test matches for the Wallabies. For most of that career, he felt like he was one bad game away from being dropped, one coach away from being told he was not in the plans. He was told exactly that in 2015. So he left.
What he did next, and why he came back, says a great deal about what actually drives elite performance over the long haul.
This is a conversation about the difference between proving people wrong and knowing your own worth, and why both matter more than most leaders admit.
Follow Nic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/white_nic/?hl=en
Follow Slips on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesslipper/?hl=en

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Jim Carrey wrote a cheque to himself for ten million dollars when he was a broke, unknown actor. Sara Blakely visualised a billion-dollar business and an Oprah appearance before either was remotely plausible. Easy to dismiss as coincidence. Harder to dismiss once you understand what an fMRI shows when a person runs a scenario in their mind. 
Andrew May breaks down the neuroscience behind why mental rehearsal works, and why leaders who ignore it are leaving a genuine performance edge on the table.

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Since the 1700s we have described this condition in the language of character. Lazy. Undisciplined. Careless. As recently as 2023, an Australian parliamentary inquiry heard the same words still follow people through their lives.
Lindy Hadges explains why a condition that sits in the brain attracts shame that an identical shortfall in the pancreas never would, and what happens the moment someone stops believing the story they were told about themselves.
View the ADHD Cake model: https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ADHD-Cake-of-Understanding.png
Find out more about the ADHD Foundation: https://adhdfoundation.org.au/about-us
Connect with Lindy: https://ccaa.net.au/practitioner/200102-14/

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

The first thing Jason McCartney asked for wasn't a doctor. It was a whiteboard.
Badly injured and facing months in hospital, he didn't ask "why me?!". He set a goal, picked a deadline, and started working backwards, the same way he had for every season of his AFL career.
What he learned about handling the moments that flatten everyone else is something most leaders never have to discover until it's forced on them.
You can find Jason at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-mccartney-oam-b10a39217/

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.