Is Sleep the Ultimate P.E.D.?

What sleep coaches are telling the world’s top athletes can raise your daily game, too. Listen up and turn in.

- David Ferry

Tom Brady, noted overachiever that he is, aims to be in bed by 8:30pm. LeBron James plans his life around nabbing ten hours of shuteye. Pro baseball player, Justin Verlander, clocks between ten and 12 hours every night. (And he does it sleeping next to Kate Upton.) In the past few years, the world’s premier athletes have discovered a new performance-enhancing supplement for their training regimens: sleep.

A number of recent and tantalising studies have suggested that simple, restorative sleep can help you think, perform and recover better. It’s compelled the world’s leading players (often prompted by their teams’ sleep coaches) to reprogram their social lives and change their priorities. It’s why pro teams’ practice facilities include nap rooms – the Bulls’ sleep room contains 22 beds. “The room is completely dark,” says strength and conditioning coach, Jacus Coetzee. “Players use it during the day whenever there is time.” The room is kept cool and each bed has a different pillow to suit each player’s needs.