98: Sleep Science Today with Andrew Colsky & guest Alejandro Martínez98: Sleep Science Today with Andrew Colsky & guest Alejandro Martínez
UK Health Radio Podcast
Host Andrew Colsky talks with formation coach Alejandro Martínez about how poor sleep, stimulants and hustle culture affected Alejandro’s health and performance, and how he rebuilt his routines around rest, exercise and diet. They also discuss why many high-level entrepreneurs resist prioritising sleep and how changing beliefs and habits can support better wellbeing and success.
45:00•4 Aug 2026
High Performance, Low Sleep: Alejandro Martínez on Rest, Identity and Success
Episode Overview
- Normalising all-nighters and minimal sleep can hide serious physical and mental warning signs like dependency on stimulants and chronic fatigue.
- Creating a calmer sleep environment — reducing screens, adding soothing sounds or scents, and setting routines — can make it easier to fall asleep.
- Journaling worries and tasks before bed helps clear racing thoughts so they don’t dominate the mind at night.
- Adjusting diet, especially heavy carbohydrate intake, can influence daily energy levels and feelings of tiredness even after a full night’s sleep.
- Executives and founders may need to challenge perfectionism and control, reframing time and habits so sleep becomes a strategic priority instead of a sacrifice.
“We all have one body to take care of… it’s not like we get more bodies as time goes on.”
Curious about how others manage their sleep while chasing big ambitions? This conversation on UK Health Radio brings together host Andrew Colsky and guest Alejandro Martínez, a formation coach for high-performance entrepreneurs, to unpack why sleep is the hidden engine behind sustained success. Alejandro traces his journey from ambitious student pulling all-nighters and living on coffee and weed to someone who now treats sleep, exercise and diet as the foundations of his work and coaching.
He shares how an internship at The National Sleep Foundation opened his eyes to "the importance of sleep, the vitality of sleep, and then the repercussions of not... engaging with proper sleep" across different ages and cultures. You’ll hear how he moved from pride in grinding through the night to noticing clear warning signs: dependency on coffee, constant grogginess, cloudy thinking, collapsing into weekend-long sleep, and workouts that left him exhausted before he even began.
That wake-up call led him to experiment with melatonin, environmental changes like candles and white noise, screen-free bedrooms, journaling to "empty" racing thoughts, and a more thoughtful approach to food and fitness. The episode also zooms in on the mindset of c-suite leaders and founders who live on four or five hours of sleep and call it victory.
Alejandro argues that many are trapped by perfectionism, control and pride, and he uses his coaching framework — centred on identity, habits, accountability, purity and boundaries, and leadership — to help them reframe time and see sleep as a strategic asset rather than a luxury. If you’re juggling ambition, recovery, or both, this chat offers a relatable look at how ignoring your body’s signals can backfire — and how small, practical shifts can start to change that story.
How might your life look if you treated sleep as non‑negotiable rather than optional?
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