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Sleep the key to prolonging careers at the top of sport
Author: Jonathan Warren
Being a professional sportsperson is incredibly exhausting, both mentally and physically. Therefore getting the right amount of rest is pivotal to keeping at the top of their games, with athletes such as Ryan Giggs, Didier Drogba and Bradley Wiggins going so far as to hire a sleep expert to give them the edge over their competitors.
Nick Littlehales specialises in all things sleep - how to do it, where to do it and when to do it. Mr Littlehales said to the Daily Mail this week: "I was invited to talk to a group of United players. Six came to see me together. I spoke to them about how important it was to sleep in the right conditions on the right things. At the end, five walked out and one stayed and said, 'I want to know more about this'. It was Ryan Giggs."
At this time, Giggs' career was in danger of coming to a premature conclusion as he suffered from a series of hamstring problems during his late 20s. He sought the advice of Mr Littlehaven and has now managed to prolong his career well into his 40s - many other footballers since including Drogba, John Terry and Sam Allardyce's Blackburn side have all taken on board the importance of improving fine margins in their daily lives to maximise sporting performance.
His methods have also been embraced in the world of cycling, with Sir Chris Hoy and the newly crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year Wiggins both incorporating the techniques into their daily lives. The fact that Hoy, Wiggins and Giggs have all won this award in the past few years shows how important those at the peak of their sporting powers find sleeping well.