Leah Lagos

Leah Lagos, PsyD, BCB

1-day workshop
Date: TBD

Workshop Title

HRV Biofeedback, Elite Performance, and Sleep Optimization

Workshop Description

As athletes and peak performers experience physical as well as emotional anxiety, whether related to a health or performance goal, there is a tendency for accelerated negative thinking and disruption of sleep.  Sometimes, the individual will experience a cascade of doubts before engaging in a competitive moment.  Others may have difficulty screening out negative thoughts and turning off busy brain before bed for a restful night of sleep. The purpose of this one-day presentation is to explore the bi-directional relationship between sleep, autonomic control, and elite performance. During this one-day workshop, Dr. Lagos will introduce Sue Wilson’s physiological assessment protocol for identifying challenges in self-regulation as well as her own protocol for monitoring sleep and enhancing recovery. She will then introduce specific physiological strategies, for addressing these challenges, through HRV training and mobile monitoring that allows clinicians to identify external variables that impact heart rate variability and recovery.  Through an interactive, experiential based presentation, participants will learn clinically useful skills for not only maximizing the ability to perform at peak during critical moments but also to achieve optimal recovery. 

Learning Objectives

1) Understanding and interpreting profiles of physiological and EEG measures.

2) Integrating biofeedback training to optimize physical and cognitive performance.

3) Identifying sleep challenges and biohacking sleep to amplify HRV.

4) Determining individual specific protocols for improving autonomic control and cognitive dexterity.

About Leah Lagos

Leah Lagos, PsyD, BCB is a clinical and sport psychologist and BCIA Board Certified biofeedback provider in Manhattan, New York. She earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University and served as a faculty member of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University. Highlights of her work with athletes include conducting interviews for NFL teams, as part of Professional Sports Consultants, for more than 9 years. Dr. Lagos has served as a consultant to PGA tour players to provide on-site support at tournaments such as the Masters’ Tournament in Augusta, GA. Dr. Lagos has also served as a consultant to US Olympians providing consultation and on-site support at venues such as the London Olympics. As a consulting psychological expert for the media, Dr. Lagos has appeared on the Today Show, NBC Nightly, MSNBC, CNN, CBS, Fox, Sports Illustrated News and ESPN. She is a consulting editor for Biofeedback Magazine: Clinical Journal and was the Guest Editor of the 2015 spring issue. She is the Chair of the Optimal Performance Section of the American Association of Physiology and Biofeedback. Dr. Lagos is also an appointed biofeedback provider for athletes and patients of several hospital programs in the New York metro area.