What Elite Performers Get Right: Sports Scientist Kristen Holmes on Sleep, Recovery, and the Psychology of Greatness

Kristen Holmes has worn every hat in the world of performance, including athlete, coach, scientist, and innovator.

Today, she’s setting the standard at WHOOP.

At the University of Iowa, she was a two-time First-Team All-American, the 1996 Big Ten MVP, and even pulled double duty on the women’s basketball team. From there, she rose to the U.S. National Field Hockey Team, earning a spot as an Olympic alternate in 1996 and competing in the 1998 World Cup.

When her playing days concluded, Kristen turned her competitive fire into coaching. From 2003 to 2015, she led Princeton University’s field hockey program to a staggering 12 Ivy League titles, 11 NCAA tournament appearances, and the crown jewel of them all, first NCAA field hockey championship by an Ivy League team, in 2012. 

Then, in 2016, she joined WHOOP, where she’s now the Global Head of Human Performance and Principal Scientist. With a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Queensland, she’s helping athletes, executives, and everyday performers unlock their best through the science of recovery, sleep, and HRV.

In just the past few months, Kristen helped launch Project FASTT, a groundbreaking collaboration to close the research gap on female athletes. She’s sharing her knowledge on the WHOOP Podcast and Science & Soul.

Tap into the Kristen Holmes Special.

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