Sleep is one of the key pillars of health, and if you are training hard but sleeping badly, you are sabotaging your gains in the gym, your performance at work, and your memory. So many people disregard sleep entirely, but the science says poor sleep is the equivalent of walking around drunk. In this Physical Friday I share what I learned from Matthew Walker's book Why We Sleep, the changes I made to my own sleep environment, and the surprising answer to the question: when I am exhausted, should I train or sleep?
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Because everything else you do for your health runs through it. If you are not getting really good sleep, the science says you are walking around at the equivalent of being drunk. Training gains, work performance, memory, and your kids' performance in school are all directly affected by sleep quality. Once I learned a little about sleep, I started taking it far more seriously — and I believe you will too.
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker is a science-based look at what sleep does for the body and brain and what sleep deprivation costs you. Walker quotes study after study, and the book changed my opinions about a lot of things — from training when tired to how students should prepare for exams. I listened to the audio version and learned a tremendous amount. I highly suggest reading it.
Before reading Why We Sleep, I never took days off. I still do not take many — but now I might take the morning off, sleep in, and train later in the day. The training has proven to be much more effective the more I focus on getting quality sleep. If you are chasing big gains in the gym while sleeping badly, the lack of sleep is undermining the work in a major way.
There is research in the book suggesting that students would remember much more of what they learned all semester by getting a really good night's sleep before an exam rather than staying up until two or three in the morning cramming. I waited until the last minute for everything in school, so I crammed plenty — but the science says a full night of sleep would have served me better.
Keep the bed cool and clean, take the television out of the bedroom, stop watching TV right before bed, and eliminate the computer and cell phone before sleep because of how blue light affects you. One of my favorite tips: travel with electrical tape so you can cover all the LED lights in a hotel room. Small environmental changes add up to noticeably better sleep.
Matthew Walker was on the Joe Rogan Experience, episode 1109, and they cover so much of what is in the book. The audiobook is a long listen, so if you do not have the hours, search out Joe Rogan episode 1109 with Matthew Walker. Either way, you will come away taking your sleep more seriously.
We spend a lot of time on this show talking about workouts and ways to perform at our very best. But if your sleep is broken, the hardest training and the strictest diet cannot save you. Learning even a little bit about what sleep does made me reorganize my own habits, and I wanted to pass along where to start. Press play in the player above for the full episode.
These are the practical steps I talk through in the episode, drawn from what I learned and what I changed in my own life.
I walk through each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
I am as guilty as anyone of saying I will sleep when I am dead. But the more I learn, the more I prioritize sleep — and the better everything else works, from the gym to the boat to the office.
If you check out the book or the podcast and it changes the way you think about sleep, send me an email at podcast@saltwaterexperience.com. And if you could leave a rating and review on iTunes, I would really appreciate it. Press play in the player above.
Matthew Walker · Why We Sleep · Joe Rogan · Joe Rogan Experience 1109 · sleep environment · blue light · melatonin · training recovery · Physical Friday · Saltwater Experience
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the workouts, nutrition, sleep, and mindset practices that keep me ready for long days on the water — practical fitness for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and anyone who wants to stay in the game for life.
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