Post by QPR Report on Jan 28, 2009 8:11:01 GMT
Henry Winter/Telegraph - Premier League teams employ sleep experts to avoid slipping into slumber
Sleep is such an important part of a player's recovery programme that some leading footballers now have pillows embedded with iPod docks and tiny speakers so they can doze off, soothed by assorted gentle sounds.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, as well as England, have all drawn on the expertise of Nick Littlehales, a renowned sleep coach formerly of Slumberland. He coaches sleep techniques and designs mattresses and pillows to suit an individual player's height, weight and injury history. Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson number among his fans.
"Dec, Jan and Feb provide one the most hectic and pressurised periods for players,'' said Littlehales. "Increased levels of insomnia are apparent with higher levels of adrenalin and anxiety. Injuries such as muscle strains – neck vertebrae, shoulders and lower back – develop more frequently as a life of coach-plane-hotel has a real impact on where, when and how they relax and therefore recover. Routines and techniques are vital when it comes to recovery.''
These range from musical pillows to more suitable mattresses, from room temperature to wall colour and advice on everything from posture to coffee consumption. "Most people who perform in professional sport will cut caffeine out altogether or restrict it to 12 hours before they want to sleep,'' said Littlehales, who is increasingly encouraging the use of iPods among his footballing clients.
"The sound wants to be something like white noise – a consistent low-frequency tone – that neither promotes thought or emotion but creates a feeling of security, comfort and anxiety displacement,'' explained Littlehales. "It is the sound equivalent of the child's comfort blanket.
"Some might listen to hypnotherapy tracks – Paul McKenna etc – or the vacuum-cleaner noise as supposedly Wayne Rooney likes [United's No 10 admits to keeping the vacuum on for background noise]. At the heart of all this is a scientific and proven approach. It can really help in certain circumstances and alien environments to get to sleep.''
Littlehales has encountered some resistance. "Players say 'we are strong, masculine, dominant so what's this sleeping-coach version of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen coming in for?!' But players are beginning to realise that the mattress should be the most important piece of furniture in their house. I also advise on colours. We say keep it completely white. When snow falls, you get no horizons and it's a wonderful, tranquil place to take yourself into. It displaces other thoughts very, very easily when you are surrounded by white in bed.
"I talk to players' wives. Yes, they would like lavish furniture but they understand that excessive use of colour and temperature and the incorrect product means the quality of sleep will not be as good as it could be – and the quality of the player's performance will suffer in matches.''
Littlehales first became involved in football in the mid-Nineties, having heard of Gary Pallister's back problem. "I wrote to Alex Ferguson, he responded, and I worked with Dave Fevre [United's then physio] to help Gary. Between me and Dave we designed products to help Gary sleep and make sure he was lying in a good postural position.''
Others were encouraged to address their sleeping – "Ryan Giggs was sleeping at home on his sister's old bed'' Â and now Littlehales' services are well-used by the champions. "Two years ago I supplied products to United's training ground so players could sleep in-between double-training sessions. They are coached by me and sleep on my products. A lot of people may not get that [Cristiano] Ronaldo is 13st, because it sounds too heavy, but he is tall and has muscle mass and needs a mattress that is right for him.''
While some players sleep up to 12 hours a night, United's manager is famous for needing only five hours. "It's about the quality of the hours,'' added Littlehales. "If Sir Alex, at a very early stage, realised that he operated extremely well on short periods, trying to extend that would make it worse. For an extremely committed, passionate person, he will have a strict routine around him that works.''
Other managers also use Littlehales' techniques. "Arsene wanted to make sure the whole team adopted it, so I did a presentation to the squad, talked about sleeping positions and they were extremely receptive. Gael Clichy and Tomas Rosicky immediately got involved. We supplied them with mattresses, duvets, pillows.
'"Before the 2006 FA Cup final, I was called in by the FA because Liverpool had a top-class hotel [in Cardiff] but we changed all the mattresses, switched nearly every bed around and made sure we didn't have sleepers and snorers in together.'' And Liverpool outlasted West Ham.
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/4360901/Premier-League-teams-employ-sleep-experts-to-avoid-slipping-into-slumber.html