Tyler Reddick has undergone a major change in his personal life, one that has benefited his entire family. He has finally addressed a lifelong issue with his sleep habits.
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As a professional athlete, Reddick knew many of the things he needed to remain competing a high level. He knew about the nutrition, the film study, and the workouts.
A good night's rest, a big part of the equation, continued to elude him, but he did not pay it much mind. After all, he's a racer who competes at odd hours. Regular sleep schedules aren't a normal part of the job.
Reddick and wife Alexa had also gone through a frightening situation where infant son Rookie had a tumor choking his renal vein and renal artery. A surgery helped Rookie, but sleep still did not come easily for the 23XI Racing driver.
"I really struggled waking up in the mornings, and I just chalked it up to that's just me, because that's how I've been my whole life," Reddick told FanBuzz.
"Never been a morning person. I grew up dirt racing, up all night, all that sort of stuff. I just can't wake up."
A lack of sleep is not ideal for Reddick, who compared his situation to the old Tom & Jerry cartoons where the characters taped their eyes open.
Sure, having a seemingly unlimited supply of Rockstar through a sponsorship deal put a bandaid on the situation, but it didn't fix the root cause.
"I had these crazy dreams — I don't want to get too specific, but just, damn," Reddick said. "I guess you can call them nightmares. I don't know, man. Like, just not good stuff. And in hindsight, it's like, well, the reason that was probably even in your brain is because your brain was lacking some oxygen (laughs).
"...I mean, I would always roll over on my shoulder, left or right, mainly my right, to get the snoring to kind of stop. And you know, then I'd be jamming my shoulder, my right shoulder, and it's the shoulder that gets jammed when you're going around the corners at a lot of these race tracks, on these ovals. So that would always get my shoulder upset and mad because I'd sleep on it."
Reddick knew in his heart that he had the symptoms of sleep apnea, and he had a desire to address his snoring after he and Alexa welcomed Rookie into the world. But he still put off going to an expert.
"I essentially just trial-and-errored some things," Reddick explained. "Like they say, if you have any kind of beverages before bed, it relaxes all the stuff back back in there. It'll make it worse. I did a couple weeks — I think I did a month back-to-back — laying flat, propped up, which isn't comfortable.
"It's way more comfortable to sleep with a CPAP machine flat on your back than upright. But I kind of did all these things, and when all the signs — like literally, all the signs and symptoms were there — I finally caved, listened to my wife, got connected with a doctor, and had the sleep study done."
This realization happened over the offseason, but it took time for Reddick to get a plan in place due to his schedule. He saw a doctor in January and then had the sleep study done in late February.
He could have potentially done the test earlier, but winning the Daytona 500 completely alters the schedule.
Instead of heading home to North Carolina, Reddick had to go to New York on a media tour. He also went to Atlanta for a WWE event.
There’s so much happening in this photo 😂 pic.twitter.com/6aFvrIdFNg
— Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) February 16, 2026
Once he completed the test, the doctors spent a couple of weeks going through the data to confirm that he had sleep apnea. He went in for another visit, and then he received his CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) therapy machine.
Reddick officially began his treatment on March 23, and he noticed immediate changes. He didn't have the nightmares or the brain fog. He certainly didn't have the headaches.
"I just remember that first time I wore it, I woke up at five in the morning, just like wired, wide awake," Reddick said. "I was like, 'Whoa, what is this?' It was so strange, but in a good way (laughs). I was like, 'Huh, that's weird.'
"And yeah, I just remember waking up wide awake at five in the morning, and I didn't know what to do with myself. So I like, I just tried to like go back to sleep, and I mean, I did, but that was kind of the trend right away."
The situation has only improved the longer Reddick has undergone treatment for sleep apnea. He shows up at work on time, and he has actual energy for his workouts, debriefs, and everything else required by 23XI Racing.
Equally important is that he still has energy when he gets home from Airspeed. He isn't just plopping down on the couch, feeling like a zombie. He has the ability to be more present for Alexa, Beau, and Rookie. He can be a better husband and father.
The treatment, which has actually led to a new partnership with health technology company Resmed, has been very beneficial during the summer stretch of the Cup Series season.
The months of May, June, and August have featured six night races so far, multiple of which have included weather delays. The summer race at Atlanta Motor Speedway even ended mere minutes shy of 2 a.m.
Reddick hasn't gotten the full night's rest that he hoped due to the quick turnaround between checkered flag and team meetings, but he has slept better.
At this point in his life, he'll take that sign of progress.
"I get why the the time slots for these races are the way they are, but we had that stretch of Sunday night races not too long ago," he said.
"That was a grind, man, because you work all week, you go to the racetrack, and then if it's a Sunday night race, you're getting home at like the early hours of the morning.
"But guess what? Monday, you've got your meetings, you've got your debriefs, you've got your stuff going on. Like the world can't stop just because you're tired. And so for me, it's just really helped me stay sustainable."
