Al Roker Details ‘Today’ Future While Talking Wellness After Health Scare

Al Roker gave Today Show fans a major scare last year. He was out for several weeks beginning with the Thanksgiving holiday due to blood clots that caused severe issues and required hospitalization and ongoing medical care. At one point, friends and family of the chief meteorologist didn’t know if he’d make it. Thankfully, he’s still here, but it was a wake-up call. Now, Roker is taking his health seriously. One form of exercise Roker has worked into his fitness journey is walking. He told Entertainment Tonight that he’s now in the double digits. “Well, my doctor told me he wanted me walking five miles a day, call him at the end of the week. I called him, he said, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m 35 miles from home!’”

Another important step in keeping his health on track is adequate sleep. “One thing I think we all kinda grapple with, and these guys probably more than me because they’ve got younger kids, is getting sleep. You know how important a good night’s sleep is for your mental health, your physical health? Your body repairs itself, your mind repairs itself when you sleep. You cannot catch up on sleep and that has been my biggest goal, I think, in the beginning of the new year, is to try to get a minimum of six to seven hours of sleep a day,” he added.

Roker is coming up on 45 years with NBC. And despite being close to 70, he says there’s no plans of him being off the air anytime soon.

“You know what? I think I’m actually more passionate,” he noted. “My dad drove a bus for eight hours a day and then he moved into management in transit authority and when he said it was no longer fun, he retired. He retired at the age of 55. I get up every morning and I get to be with these guys. I get to be with Savannah [Guthrie] and Hoda [Kotb] and Carson [Daly]. And I cannot tell you how much I look forward to it. Every day is a different day and our audience who comes down to the Today show, our crew, our producers — how do you give up something like this?”