Sleep On Ep3: 2024 Paralympic Champion Rower, Benjamin Pritchard, discusses what he has learned about the value of sleep for performance

Benjamin Pritchard, Paralympic Rowing Champion

In the third episode of Season 2 of the Sleep On podcast, I interviewed Paralympic rowing champion Benjamin Pritchard, who shared his inspiring journey following a spinal cord injury in 2016.

In 2016, unfortunately, I was thrust into the world of disability through a cycling accident which left me with a spinal Cord injury level T6.. If you run your hand down your sternum and then about 2 inches below your sternum, that's where I lose all sensation, all movement and any function in my body. So bladder, bowel, everything like that, sensation, pain, temperature control, anything like that stops.

Ben initially didn't enjoy rowing, and it was only when he got on the water - and out of a wheelchair - that he discovered a love for the sport.

Now when he goes onto the erg he calls it his place of honesty. There is no hiding from the numbers - he stays focused on what he can achieve.

As an elite athlete, Ben talks about four pillars of performance. You've got the rowing technique training, the strength and conditioning, nutrition and recovery. 

Recovery is just as important to us as the training because if you don't recover correctly, then there's no point in doing the training... Sleep and recovery is vitally important. You know, it's part of my job.

Ben talks about his sleep being disrupted in training camps, which is a highly demanding training environment, but also a new environment - new pillow, new bed. The team physio did some acupuncture on him which really helped with sleep. He experimented to see what worked for him.

It's all about turning over every stone so that when you get there on the start line, you can go, I've done everything I can to be in this point.

Ben admits that he's not perfect! Sometimes going to bed too late, or using his phone too much. I reckon this means he can go even faster.

We talked about the right mindset for sleep - doing all the right preparation, but then you need to let the effort go. If you don't fall asleep.. don't worry about it.

Ben mentioned the birth of his daughter Ava, and how this has changed his relationship with sleep. He and his wife did protect specific nights for him to sleep through, prior to a big training load. But the big change, was actually learning to worry less..

Prior to having a baby, I would be somebody that would stress about the amount of sleep I was having before a competition, before an erg test, before a trial, before a selection date.

Ben eventually adopted an attitude of acceptance - sometimes, he wouldn't sleep well 3 or 4 nights a week.. but he still had to go and train.

And actually three of my world records this year came on nights where I didn't sleep that well... And I think it was basically because you get to the point where you're like, well, if I do perform, I perform. If I don't, then fine. So you kind of get on the erg again with that acceptance mindset and I think that just frees you up.

Ben has done a lot of work in understanding his emotional state, and what he needs for peak performance.

a lot of people think that pumping yourself up or getting yourself really hyped before a race is a good idea. Well, actually, we found with me, my body would get too hyped anyway because I'm quite emotional and I love to race. So as a racer going into a race, I was already on that, like, high anxiety, high, you know, fight or flight kind of mode going, I'm going to go race, let's go do it.

For Ben, classical music helps him to calm down and get into a more grounded state before he races.

Before Paris, Ben worked with his roommate to develop good sleep routines, like having a warm cherry active gel half an hour before getting into bed. They would switch the light out at 8:30/9pm. With a spinal injury, he also has to manage self catheterisation, so it takes more planning than for most people. His bowel movements are unpredictable, and he wakes up at 5am to allow time for that. They would also nap in the afternoon.. all of these routines were developed in training, so that by the time they got to Paris, it was second nature.

Sleeping before an Olympic final? Ben is a fan of reading before bed. He was reading Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey.

I just try to get calm, you know, breathing. Just trying to imagine a nice place where you want to be and sleep and relax, you know. And that's kind of what helps me get to sleep.

The episode closes with Ben’s dedication to analyzing past performances to set future goals and his consideration of experimenting with sleep tracking.

He emphasises the importance of having a plan.. where do you want to get to? How will you get there? Then write a journal so that you reflect on what works and what doesn't.

It's ultimately about commitment.

Tune into the full episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0E9Aaksr86nzV3TF3qLT0R?si=BJtY3Y9EQFuDnIi47Vw5fw