ABOUT DR. MAH
Cheri D. Mah, MD, MS, is a sleep physician and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center. She is regarded as a national and international expert on sleep and performance in elite athletes. Her research investigates the impact of sleep on cognitive and physical performance across a wide range of sports. This work focuses on studying the benefits of sleep extension to reduce negative consequences of chronic sleep loss on daytime functioning. She has also examined circadian rhythm performance advantages in the NFL and how sleep restriction impairs athlete biomechanics.
Dr. Mah is currently a sleep expert for Under Armour and served on the Nike Performance Council for 9 years. She consults professional teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB as well as international sports organizations on optimal sleep, travel, and performance strategies. She has worked with the World Champion Golden State Warriors (NBA), San Francisco Giants (MLB), San Jose Sharks (NHL), Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL), Toronto Blue Jays (MLB), among other teams. In 2017, she helped the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) win the Super Bowl. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she helped a 3x Olympian win multiple gold medals. Dr. Mah has also advised Formula 1, C-suite executives, and the US military.
Dr. Mah’s experience includes advising Supermoon Capital and working with Gatorade, ESPN, Google, and various sleep technology startups. Additionally, she created the ESPN Mah Score, an NBA win-loss predictor based strictly on team schedule. Her research and work are featured in national and international media including the NY Times, ESPN, NPR, NBC Bay Area, Time, CBS, BBC, Runner’s World, National Geographic Adventure, and the Wall Street Journal.
Dr. Mah is board-certified in Sleep Medicine having completed Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center. She is also board-certified in Internal Medicine having completed Internal Medicine Residency at Kaiser San Francisco. Dr. Mah received her M.D. at the University of California San Francisco where she was a research fellow with the UCSF Human Performance Center. She received her M.S. in Biological Sciences and her B.A.S. dual degree in Biological Sciences and Psychology graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University.
MEDIA
NBC's highlight of Andre Iguodala's multiple championship seasons following improving his sleep
Warriors Secret Weapon? Team Gets Sleep Advice From UCSF Researcher
The Link Between Sleep and Slam Dunks
TIME for Health Talk: Get the Most From Your Sleep
Listen to NBA athlete Andre Iguodala and Dr. Cheri Mah to learn how making small changes in your sleep habits can make you healthier, more productive and even more fit.
ESPN Schedule Alert
This project predicted when fatigued NBA teams are at risk of losing not because of the opponent, but based solely on schedule-related factors (insufficient recovery/sleep opportunities, circadian disruption, travel fatigue, etc). Dr. Mah correctly predicted 69% (29 of 42 overall games) and 76.5% (13 of 17 red alert games).
Dr. Mah correctly predicted 77.8% (42 of 54 overall games) and 77.8% (7 of 9 red alert games). How fatigue shaped the NBA season and analysis of Schedule Alert 2.0 findings.
There were 42 Schedule Alert games with prediction to lose 63.1% of the games based on the past 10 seasons; 24/42 games were losses (57.1%). There were 7 red alert games with prediction to lose 68.6% of the games based on the past 10 seasons; 6/7 games were losses (85.7%).
UC Newsroom: How to Sleep Like A Pro (Athlete)
Do you want an easy way to improve your game? Get a bit more sleep, and the results could surprise you. Dr. Mah applies her research and expertise to help the world’s best athletes gain a competitive edge. A growing list of professional teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB are turning to Dr. Mah to fine-tune their athletes’ sleeping schedules.