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What drives peak performance in elite athletes? What separates champions from the rest when their physical abilities are nearly identical?
It turns out that the answers lie not just in the body but in the intricate workings of the mind—a frontier now being explored through cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology.
My guest today is Dr. David Spindler, a high-performance cognitive specialist and athlete welfare consultant who has dedicated himself to unraveling the complicated interplay between mind and body in world-class sports. Working with elite athletes like 35-time Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish (RRP 799), David has become a pioneering force in translating neuroscientific insights into tangible success.
David’s research illustrates how trust, happiness, and mental well-being impact athletic achievement. He introduces us to concepts like “happy watts”—the idea that contentment can increase an athlete’s time to exhaustion—and explains how team dynamics are shaped by the ebb and flow of oxytocin, our “trust hormone.”
“Focus on precision, not perfection.”
– DAVID SPINDLER, PH.D
Today, we explore the challenges of managing sleep strategies for elite athletes, the impact of social media pressure on mental health, and the delicate balance between perfectionism and precision in sports.
David shares insights on the importance of self-regulation and how understanding neurotransmitter pathways can revolutionize our approach to behavior modification.
We discuss a range of thought-provoking topics, including the power of vulnerability in building trust within teams and the unrealized benefits of incorporating mindfulness practices into athletic training.
David also explains the concept of allostatic load and its impact on cognitive function and physical performance.
This conversation invites us to reconsider our understanding of human capacity—to explore the extraordinary capacities that lie beneath the surface of our awareness.
For those who prefer a visual experience, the conversation is available on YouTube. As always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Whether you’re an athlete, a coach, a business leader, or someone interested in unlocking your full potential, this conversation offers invaluable insights into the science of achievement and the profound connection between mental health and peak performance.
Enjoy!
Peace + Plants,
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- Connect With David Spindler: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
- Harvard Business Review: The Neuroscience of Trust
- Sky Sports: Mark Cavendish: Cyclist reveals his depths of depression in new Netflix documentary
- The Telegraph: Why Mark Cavendish is the greatest current British sportsman
- NIH: Homeostatic control of brain function – new approaches to understand epileptogenesis
- PNAS: Pleasurable behaviors reduce stress via brain reward pathways
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Thank The Team: I do not do this alone. Send your love to Jason Camiolo for audio engineering, production, show notes and interstitial music; with additional audio engineering by Cale Curtis and additional music by Moby; Blake Curtis & Dan Drake for video, & editing; graphics by Jessica Miranda & Daniel Solis; portraits by Davy Greenberg, Grayson Wilder & Gizelle Peters; copywriting by Ben Pryor; and theme music by Tyler Piatt, Trapper Piatt & Hari Mathis.
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