FRLN111: Sleep Efficiency, Frugal to Rich Evolution, Taking Action (to improve your life)
This week, I was featured on The Compounding Project Podcast — a show all about long-term fitness, wealth, and wisdom.
When we recorded the episode, I was 43 years old chronologically… and my WHOOP biological age was 33.
Since then? It’s dropped even further.
Today, my WHOOP age is 31.6 — 12.1 years younger than my chronological age of 43.7.
In that interview, Sathish and I go deep on all things fitness & health:
Sleep & recovery
Strength training
VO2 max training
Stress management
Longevity & healthspan
Supplements & nutrition
Mindset & lifestyle habits
Not hacks.
Not 30-day transformations.
Compounding health & fitness habits.
And here’s why this matters:
We’re now in the second half of February.
The “New Year, New Me” energy has faded for most people.
That’s exactly when sustainability matters most.
My interview on The Compounding Project is one of the most in-depth breakdowns I’ve ever done on how I’ve built — and maintained — elite level health & fitness.
Now let’s dive into this week’s tips, tools, and strategies for Fitness, Money, and Life.
FIT — Sleep Efficiency (The Hidden Variable)
Most people know they “should” get 7–8 hours of sleep.
What most people don’t understand is sleep efficiency.
Sleep efficiency =
How much of your time in bed are you actually asleep
If your sleep efficiency is 80% and you’re in bed for 8 hours…
You’re only getting 6.4 hours of sleep.
That is shit sleep — nowhere near enough to perform at a high level.
And here’s the kicker:
Many people are chronically underslept and don’t even realize it — because they’ve normalized feeling tired.
They think they're fine with less sleep, but their quality of life, happiness, and overall performance would radically improve if they committed to getting enough sleep.
To actually get 8 hours of sleep, most people need to physically be in bed for 9–10 hours.
That means:
Earlier wind-down
Dark and cool room
Consistent bedtime
Tracking your sleep data
I personally use & recommend WHOOP (I also have a Garmin & Oura). WHOOP gives you a clear sleep efficiency percentage so you can adjust accordingly.
I think WHOOP is the most advanced health tracker and will continue to be as they roll out new features faster than everyone else.
If you use my WHOOP referral code, you and I will both get one month free.
Zooming out:
Sleep is the wonder drug.
If your sleep isn’t dialed:
Your mood declines
Your workouts suffer
Your discipline drops
You end up overeating
Your financial decisions worsen
Before chasing another supplement or biohack…
Ask yourself:
Am I actually getting 7.5–8+ hours of true sleep?
Fix that first.
Everything compounds from there.
RICH — The Frugal To Rich Evolution
This week, I had a moment with a coaching client.
He’s worth well over $1M, and one of his goals is to improve his marriage.
Three weeks ago, I suggested he buy a $31.99 deck of “Get Closer” relationship cards to use with his wife.
He didn’t buy them.
When I asked why, he said:
“They’re $30, and I was being cheap.”
I said, “What the f*ck? You’re a millionaire.”
No judgment — I’ve been there.
I didn’t eat at restaurants for 3 years while I was grinding toward financial independence. I stopped buying books and only used the library for years.
I sold my fancy Range Rover and got a 2012 Toyota Prius that I still drive today.
Extreme frugality helped me build wealth.
But here’s the nuance:
A habit that built your wealth can eventually limit your life.
Frugality is powerful when:
You’re in debt and behind financially
You’re building your first $100k
You’re trying to reach $1M
But once you’re financially stable?
You must evolve.
Money is a tool to improve the quality of your life.
Investing in:
Your marriage
Your health & fitness
Your physical environment
Your growth & development
…is not wasteful.
It’s intelligent capital allocation.
The point of building wealth is NOT to die with the highest savings rate or the most money.
It’s to design a better life.
As your wealth grows, use your money to proactively build your Fit Rich Life.
LIFE — Take Action (And Keep Taking It)
At the end of my interview on The Compounding Project, I said this:
Take one nugget from the episode… and act on it.
Because nothing changes without new action.
If you keep doing what you’ve always done,
You will keep getting what you’ve always gotten.
And we all do this.
We want:
Better fitness
Better finances
Better relationships
Better energy & happiness
But we repeat the same behaviors.
Change requires:
New action
Repeated action
Sustained action
Not once.
Not twice.
But for weeks. Months. Years.
Compounding works both ways.
Small disciplined action → extraordinary outcomes.
Small repeated avoidance → stagnation.
You’ve been reading this newsletter for weeks, months, some of you for years.
Knowledge is potential power.
Knowledge put into action is realized power.
On that note, go take some... NEW ACTION this week (ideas below).
ACTION — Build & Maintain Momentum
Pick one and implement it this week:
• FIT — Optimize your sleep.
Check your sleep efficiency. If you want 7.5–8+ hours of actual sleep, you may need 9–10 hours in bed. Adjust your bedtime. Reduce friction. Track it. Sleep is the foundation — everything else compounds from there.
• RICH — Upgrade your life with intention.
Identify one area where you’re being overly frugal at the expense of growth (health, marriage, learning, environment). Spend strategically to improve your quality of life. Money is a tool — use it.
• LIFE — Take new action.
Choose one nugget from this newsletter (or the podcast) and implement it immediately. Then repeat it next week. New results require new, sustained action.
Momentum doesn’t come from thinking.
It comes from DOING — consistently.
Here’s to building your Fit Rich Life through better sleep, intentional spending, and wise action repeated for long periods of time.
To your health, wealth, and happiness,
— Justin David Carl
P.S. My interview on The Compounding Project is available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and wherever you enjoy your podcast entertainment.