About this episode

Todd Anderson discusses the critical role of sleep in athletic performance, particularly for runners, and shares insights on sleep debt and breathing techniques.

You can't out-tough sleep. That's Todd Anderson's whole argument, and he makes it as a guy who tried. A walk-on fullback at Michigan State who signed with the Rams of the NFL in 2012, Todd spent a decade in strength and conditioning before deciding the highest-leverage hour of an athlete's day is the one they spend unconsciously. He's now co-founder and CEO of Dream Performance & Recovery and is working toward a PhD in sleep psychology. Dominic caught him marathon mid-buildup—Todd's training for Chicago, Dominic for Columbus—and the conversation goes deep on why runners are the worst offenders. Perceived exertion and pain tolerance are among the first things to degrade when you're underslept, so chronic short sleep doesn't just cap your ceiling, it makes every mile hurt more. Todd's comparison: it's like training every day in 100-degree heat. They get into the seven-hour floor and where that number actually comes from, the 2024 lab studies where unrestricted sleepers settled at eight and a half hours, and how to tell whether you're carrying sleep debt. Todd breaks down the mechanics of nasal breathing—nitric oxide, CO2 tolerance, and why the strips may do more for you asleep…

People in this episode

Host: Dominic Schlueter

Guest: Todd Anderson

Topics covered

• sleep science
• running performance
• sleep debt
• nasal breathing
• marathon training
• CO2 tolerance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dream Performance & Recovery

Places: Michigan State, Chicago, Columbus

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