Nearly every grappler I work with says they “know” sleep matters—yet almost all are underslept, inconsistent, or just wrecked by late screens, caffeine abuse, or night-shift life.

In this episode of Pain, Performance & Porrada, I get personal: new dad chaos, hormone crashes, a missed follow-up for suspected sleep apnea (yep, guilty), and why I finally got fitted for a CPAP even though I’m a trained, lifting, not-overweight combat athlete. Spoiler: fit people get apnea too.

Sleep isn’t optional recovery fluff; it’s the most available, most abused performance tool you own. If you want to compete, stay out of surgery, and still roll with your kids decades from now, you can’t “grind” your way around bad sleep. We cover sleep hygiene basics, what to audit in your last waking hour, common traps (caffeine, doom-scrolling, THC before bed), and why even an extra 30 minutes a night compounds into better tissue healing, hormone balance, and mat readiness.

Top 3 Takeaways

Sleep = #1 Recovery Multiplier

• Consistent 7+ hours (more in heavy phases) improves healing, hormone regulation, and injury resilience far more than most recovery gadgets ever will.

Fit Athletes Get Sleep Apnea

• Snoring, morning fatigue, or “I slept 8 but feel wrecked”? Don’t ignore it because you’re lean and active. Get screened; CPAP or oral devices can be game-changers.

Audit Your Last Hour & Fix One Thing Tonight

• Screens, late caffeine, THC, hot rooms, random bedtime—pick one lever to clean up and stack wins. Small habit shifts beat perfect plans you never follow.

Where to find me:

https://www.instagram.com/smithforgedsc/

https://www.youtube.com/@SmithForgedSC

Want to connect with me directly?

Visit https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ3txjhZ90zlk_yWXKp-rm_JyGIVzxfwrKSeYUYNOkrqf2cgpzhxlfeOu8FfokRAvfZu-xUwBNn5 to book a call