Arena Labs

It’s Match Week, which means many medical students are about to find out where they’ll be spending the next few years training. No matter how excited they are, there’s always an undertone—the quiet acknowledgment that things are about to get real. While celebrating a friend’s match this week, he said: “I'm going to need a wearable device” I laughed—partly because medical school had clearly kept him too busy to fully understand what I do at Arena Labs, but also because his comment spoke volumes. It was an immediate recognition that residency is going to push him: the long hours, the high-stakes decisions, the sleep deprivation. But at the same time, it showed something more—an awareness. He wants to understand how residency will affect him so he can actively respond. That shift in mindset is everything. Because here’s what the data tells us about residents who go through our platform: By the end of the workweek, they accumulate 2 hours and 40 minutes of sleep debt. And on their days off? They recover only 40 minutes of it. HRV actually drops on those days, meaning that even when time is available, real recovery isn’t happening. This is the kind of data that medicine rarely uses or trains people to understand. Every other high-performance field studies how behaviors, activities, and even what’s consumed affect performance. Why should medicine be any different? It’s what separates those who are barely getting through and those able to show up at their best. New incoming residents, or anyone who has a hand in training the next generation of clinicians, must recognize this can make or break healthcare’s future. How can you make sure you and your team are getting the training they truly need to show up when it matters? Shoutout to Xavier Carter, Hannah DeBacker, Kai H., Jacklyn Pen, & Fritz for bringing this story to life. More on what our data reveals about residents here: https://lnkd.in/eWhYuJsQ

How does sleep regularity impact workplace resilience? Our Head of Predictive Performance, Joshua Blair, shares key insights from research on soldiers in extreme Arctic conditions—and its relevance for healthcare teams facing similar challenges.

It’s National Sleep Week, a reminder that sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. For healthcare workers, sleep is often an afterthought, sacrificed to long shifts, late calls, and unpredictable schedules. Telling a clinician to “just sleep more” ignores the reality of the job. While total sleep time isn’t always in your control, maintaining a regular sleep routine whenever possible can make a difference. A comprehensive consensus statement from the National Sleep Foundation, based on 63 studies, emphasizes that the consistency of sleep onset and offset is critical for overall health and performance. At Arena Labs, we see this firsthand. Frontline medical teams who focus on bedtime consistency—even within the constraints of shift work—experience better recovery and establish routines that help them get the rest they need. We’ve built tools to track these metrics because small habits make a big impact. One thing to focus on this week: ?? If you’re a healthcare worker, take a moment to rethink what’s within your control. Can you set a more consistent bedtime? Adjust your wind-down routine? ?? For healthcare leaders, consider how supporting your team’s recovery at home directly impacts their performance at work. Well-rested teams make better decisions, communicate more effectively, and sustain performance under pressure. Even something as simple as sharing insight can go a long way for culture.? Learn more about the impact of bedtime consistency and we integrate it into our work: https://lnkd.in/gEc3BWCU?

"Across industries, the convergence of data and human performance has led to safer skies, stronger athletes, and more resilient military teams. But what about one of the most demanding professions of all—healthcare?" - Joshua Blair https://lnkd.in/gxrYFeF9

"The story of Arena Labs is both accidental and in some ways, decades in the making." - Brian Ferguson https://lnkd.in/gJcB2eqa

What are the common traits across a Cirque du Soleil troupe, a fighter pilot squadron, and an the US Olympic track team? That's tough. But there are more commonalities than you'd first guess. Either way, begin with the "First Principles". At Arena, that's where we always start. While we are pioneering the field of High Performance Medicine, we never started from scratch. Instead, our bedrock philosophy to human performance and excellence was built on centuries of thinking: start with the most basic elements of the problem and build from there. Famous western philospher Aristotle is often attributed to "first principles thinking". He was always looking for "the first basis from which a thing is known". In essence, boil a problem or framework down to its most basic element and build/solve from there. In our work at Arena, we are applying "The First Principles of Human Performance" -- those most vital elements seen in any world-class culture -- to our work in frontline healthcare. The truth is that the best teams in the world, upon closer look, have amazingly common cultures built on very similar principles. In this blog we explore those elements and why the "Physical Body" a focus on the mind-body connection is so vital to the frontline healthcare teams we serve through Arena Strive. Here's to some of the early minds who influenced our philosophy: Benjamin Kohlmann Douglas Johnston Jurgen Heitmann https://lnkd.in/gtxV4NSp #HighPerformanceMedicine #ArenaStrive #AHigherStandard

We are excited to announce a groundbreaking Research + Development contract with the United States Department of the Air Force. In collaboration with The University of Pennsylvania Medicine, we’ll be doing pioneering research to compare the impact of coaching and human performance tools on wellbeing for frontline clinicians working in both military and civilian healthcare settings. Our mission to bring #HighPerformanceMedicine to every frontline clinician has always been anchored in being science-backed and data-driven. This pioneering research will allow our team to advance that aim in the #ServiceArchetype serving across modern healthcare. Read the full press release: https://lnkd.in/gEmUb8PZ

How does bereavement present in our physiological data? Our Head of Predictive Performance, Joshua Blair, shares his key findings. #bereavement #data #predictiveperformance

From 'Moneyball' to the NBA's 'load management' to Special Operations recovery protocols, a brief history of how data and analytics became the secret to winning. https://lnkd.in/gZp52qW9 #recovery #data #predictiveperformance

From the battlefield to the bedside: our Head of Growth, Jason Schwab, shares powerful lessons from his combat experience and how they relate to burnout in modern healthcare. ???? https://lnkd.in/gtkmPAhS #Leadership #BurnoutPrevention #HealthcareInnovation"