John Cena discussed the physical toll of his travel schedule during his interview on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. Referencing a skit from one of his music videos where he held a sign saying “Sleep is Not Mandatory,” Cena corrected the record regarding his current approach to rest.
“I should cross out the not. Sleep is mandatory, and I fashion my days around that,” Cena stated.
Cena detailed the extreme endurance required for his international trips, such as flying from Budapest to Indianapolis and back for WWE appearances while filming. He revealed his capacity to function for long periods without sleep but emphasized the crash that follows.
“I know I can operate for like 36 straight, maybe 40. I get blurry around 18, then you get blurry around like 28 again… But after that, I need like three days, like 70 hours of sleep,” Cena explained.
The “Block of 10”
Cena broke down his specific recovery method, which involves carving out large blocks of time for sleep immediately upon returning to his base.
“I will get home from work, fall asleep in the car, stumble to the room, not even say hi to the wife… I know I got 10, and a block of 10 is just enough to be like, man, I”m kind of not blurry anymore,” Cena said.
He described the process as needing multiple “blocks” to fully recover. “And then that second block of 10, it’s like, whoa, all right. And then the third block of 10, it’s like, you’re ready to go,” he noted.
“Asking for Grace”
Cena also shared how he manages his relationship during these periods. He uses a concept called “asking for grace” with his wife, Shay Shariatzadeh. This involves communicating in advance that he will be unavailable emotionally and physically due to exhaustion.
“We plan on this before. I call it asking for grace, we have a tough run come up. I need to ask for grace at these three points,” Cena explained.
He contrasted this with their normal routine, which includes 90 minutes of dedicated time together in the morning. “Asking for grace is like zero minutes survival and my well being. I just got to get right back to me being good, because me being in debt is doing nobody any favors, and she understands that,” Cena said.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
