Have you ever heard a wounded animal in the middle of the night? That sound - a mix of choking, gasping, and guttural moaning - was exactly what echoed from my guest bedroom the night before Hell on the Hill in 2023.
I peeked my head in to investigate and found my friend Turney asleep, making these disturbing sounds. It didn't just sound unusual - it sounded dangerous. I made the executive decision to wake him up. When I did, he had no idea where he was or what was happening. He simply rolled over and went back to sleep on his side. Before leaving, I told him he needed to get checked out because something was seriously wrong.
A couple of weeks later, Turney called with an update: he'd been tested for sleep apnea and scored 58 "events" per hour - meaning he stopped breathing in his sleep almost every minute. The average person has fewer than 5 events per hour. It turns out he'd been struggling for three years, not understanding why he was constantly exhausted or why his writing focus had deteriorated. By his estimation, he lost three years of productivity to a condition he didn't know he had.
This experience made me think about how many people might suffer without knowing it. Sleep apnea affects nearly 1 billion people worldwide, yet 80% of cases remain undiagnosed. That's millions of people performing at a fraction of their potential.
Turney now jokes that I saved his life or that Hell on the Hill saved his life because he finally got a CPAP machine and proper treatment. He wishes he had worn an Oura Ring years ago - it might have flagged his irregular sleep patterns much earlier and prompted him to seek help.
Don't wait until someone wakes you up in the middle of the night. Your health, productivity, and quality of life depend on understanding your sleep. Sleep might be the most underrated advantage you can give yourself when it comes to performance - whether in business, athletics, or life.
