Dr. Dena Garner is a professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance, the Director of Undergraduate Research and the Assistant Provost for Research and Policy at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Garner is best known in fitness circles for her work with performance mouthpieces, including helping to develop the technology behind the AIRWAAV mouthpiece. Dena started working at The Citadel in 2004 while completing her post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Neurology at the Medical University of South Carolina, also located in Charleston. Before her move to Charleston, she worked at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon where she also received her doctoral degree in exercise physiology. She received her Master’s degree from the University of South Carolina in exercise physiology and an undergraduate degree from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Dr. Garner has been working in the area of mouthpiece use and effect on human performance since 2005 with studies that have focused on reaction time, lactate, and cortisol and the effect of mouthpiece use on these parameters. In addition, her research has focused on mouthpiece use during steady state exercise and effects on oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange as well as the proposed mechanisms for positive effects on airway dynamics in a healthy population. In addition to research in the area of mouthpiece use and effect on human performance, Dr. Garner is involved in a research study which encompasses testing and evaluating physiologic neuro-assessment devices in healthy versus traumatic brain injury populations. Related to this research she was awarded a multi-year grant from the Henry Jackson Foundation to assess neurologic assessment devices in healthy populations. Backed by 15 years of research conducted with athletes at cadets at The Citadel – the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece offers a more efficient way for high-intensity and endurance athletes — including lifters — to open their airways and optimize their performance. Learn more at airwaav.com. Dena started working at The Citadel in 2004 while completing her post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Neurology at the Medical University of South Carolina, also located in Charleston. Before her move to Charleston, she worked at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon where she also received her doctoral degree in exercise physiology. She received her Master’s degree from the University of South Carolina in exercise physiology and an undergraduate degree from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. CT Scans prove the mouthpiece increases the width of your airway an average of 9%. INCREASED ENDURANCE Reduces respiratory rate by 20%, resulting in less lactic acid production. FASTER RECOVERY TIMES Reduces cortisol build-up by up to 50% after intense workouts, improving recovery times. Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction to show. 2:55 - Interview starts 4:37 - The Citadel is a Military College in South Carolina, how did you end up at a Military College? 6:46 - Your expertise in the area of airways for runners, cyclists, and Triathletes is well documented. Where did your desire to research and understand human performance start? 11:58 - Were you an athlete growing up? Do you come from an athletic background? 15:42 - When it was first brought to you to research the airways, were you skeptical or unsure if this was work that you could find the passion and desire you clearly have now? 21:24 - Who first had the concept that a mouthpiece could be a gamechanger in the way we breathe? 23:09 - Dr Garner explains the science in how a mouthpiece can help us breathe better in particularly when it comes to strength and endurance performance. 25:52 - How does nose breathing compare to mouth breathing? Is one better than the other? 27:00 - Have you been testing on elite athletes? 31:08 - What is the best way to get started with a mouthpiece from AIRWAAV? 33:51 - Dr. Garner explains how the mouthpiece helps the recovery process. 35:24 - How can an athlete test their training and compare their exertion rate using a mouthpiece? 37:31 - How has the mouthpiece evolved over the 17 years you've been researching and developing? 40:10 - Where do you see this technology going in the future other than within the elite sports arena? 44:29 - What are some of the research data numbers that you have seen pre and post exercise? 49:24 - Dr. Garner explains the research into concussion recovery and how the mouthpiece enhances cerebral blood flow. 53:13 - Some fun questions to wrap up this conversation and to get to know Dr. Dena Garner even more.

If you could sit with three living people, who would they be and why?
What advice would you give to listeners to help them optimize their own lives?
What's next for Dr. Dena Garner?

01:01:43 - Interview ends.

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