Arena Labs

Bringing the tools of elite athletes and special forces into frontline healthcare // Pioneering the field of High Performance Medicine®️

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

9 years in, we have the proof.

Investing in your frontline clinicians work:
- 32% reduction in burnout
- material improvements in turnover

Stop investing in pizza parties, perks and posters.

Start teaching the science-backed tools for flourishing and performance.

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Mason et al. 2022, PNAS: Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function.
https://t.co/btLts8kz3H

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

The room can keep you on shift after you've clocked out.

A single night of moderate light during sleep blunted overnight recovery signals. Paper below.

After the last patient: dark glasses home + cover LEDs + eye mask or blackout room.Fewer signals saying: stay on.

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Balban et al. 2023, Cell Reports Medicine: structured cyclic sighing improved mood and reduced physiological arousal.

https://t.co/cAByCjIGSo

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Before a high-acuity room, don't aim for calm.

At the door, take 3 physiological sighs: inhale through nose + add a second small inhale + make the exhale long and quiet. (study below)

It drops excess activation without dulling your edge. Study below.

What do you use before you walk in?

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Clinician wellbeing as a care-system aim: Bodenheimer & Sinsky 2014, Annals of Family Medicine

https://t.co/krf6NpSii9

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Clinician wellbeing is not a reward after your shift.

It's your operating CAPACITY during the shift.

After your last patient, do a 90-second closeout:
- one open loop
- one next action
- one thing you completed.

Then leave the unit with a transition, not a hard stop. Validated in the literature. (below)

What is your end-of-shift closeout?

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Elite performers don't simply rise to the moment.

They reduce that moment to a routine.

Before the next procedure: feet planted + inhale 4 seconds + exhale 4, for 60 seconds total + rehearse the steps mentally.

Pre-performance routine training: https://t.co/sTsqRdowC2

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Wearables are weakest as a grade. For shift workers, one bad night is noise.

The real signal is your baseline: HRV + heart rate after a run of shifts
Before the next shift, check it. If low, breathe at 5 to 6 breaths/min for 5 minutes

https://t.co/aFjN91VJpn

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Burnout doesn't start in your head. It starts in your autonomic nervous system.

Clinical stress compounds allostatic load until the body can't return to baseline.

Targeted autonomic training, not just rest, shifts it back.

https://t.co/qNfeu9qVRV

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

When sleep is off the table on call, recovery beats endurance

Downshifting on command: lie down, close your eyes, follow a 10-minute body scan, letting your body get heavy

Yoga nidra reduced insomnia in healthcare workers - https://t.co/lK0ikUrGvf

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Stress conditioning should feel controllable to be most effective

Before a shift, end a shower with 30 sec of cold water, then take 2 slow breaths

Target is not toughness. It's training your body to stay under command while the body activates

https://t.co/ZV1VEcIfA7

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

When you only have 60 seconds between cases - make the break just as useful 20 mins

Make it a state change:
+ stand tall
+ drop your shoulders
+ take 3 slow exhales
+ walk 10 steps before the next room Microbreaks improve vigor and reduce fatigue https://t.co/DLiQWOs5Tg

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

After a difficult case, isolation feels efficient. Counterintuitively, it's the slower reset

A trusted teammate signals physiological safety, triggering recovery

Before charting, take 2 minutes: eye contact + say what happened + name the next action

https://t.co/nqdkTFyoSD

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

The best self-talk before a high-acuity moment is NOT motivational.

It is instructional.

Before the next difficult case, use one phrase to tells your body what to do: steady voice & next steps.

https://t.co/xL9E8iFQRz

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Under pressure, attention fails before expertise does.

Before a procedure, pick one target for 60 seconds. Feel the breath, return when the mind jumps, name the next action.

No minute? One breath at the door. Training reduces mind-wandering:

https://t.co/eX2AHvz3FP

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

After a night shift, recovery starts before bed.

Morning light tells your body the shift is still on. Wear dark glasses home. Keep sleep cold, dark, quiet.

Even moderate light during sleep can disrupt recovery: https://t.co/btLts8kz3H

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

After a demanding clinical week, the impulse is to shut down. But passive rest and physiological recovery are not the same

10min easy walking is an off-ramp: avoids additional load but active enough to signal safety

https://t.co/qNfeu9qVRV

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Don't have 5 five minutes?

A few long exhales before you walk into the next room still shifts you toward recovery. You don't need stillness, just the cadence.

Study: https://t.co/bDpVz7BlDA

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Low HRV after a night shift is your recovery gauge reading low after running the engine all night. Not a bad score. It just means you're stuck in go mode.

Slow breathing is the override. 5-6 breaths per minute for ~5 mins before your next admit to regulate.

Study Below:

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

A consistent wind-down routine you can anchor to, even around irregular schedules, moves the needle more.

https://t.co/HFXtjxZKUh

[Arena Labs @arena_labs]

Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality than sleep duration.

In 61k adults over 8 years the most consistent sleepers had 20–48% lower all-cause mortality regardless of total hours logged.

For clinicians on rotating shifts, chasing 8 hours is the wrong target.