6 Pro Athletes Share How They Maximize Sleep

"Sleep is very important [for rest and recovery before and after games]. I just bought a sleeping bed. It tells you what temperature I need to keep my room at, so I could sleep comfortably, and how many hours I should get. It’s very important because the more hours you sleep, you recover faster. Your reaction on the field is much quicker if you get rest than if you didn’t get any rest, so sleeping helps you a lot.”

“Usually 11:00, 11:30 [p.m.] is when I get to bed. It’s consistent through the week, whether I have a game or not. I wake up - give or take - about 7:00, 7:30, depending on the day. I try to get my eight hours. Sometimes it’s seven, seven and a half, around there. I try to have my body on the same schedule, so it gets used to it. Sleep is one of the biggest things to kind of rejuvenate the body. I take it pretty serious. Depending on my sleep, if I could get a nap in, I get that in there to kind of give me a little boost. I try to get a 30-minute nap in at some point.”

"I usually go to bed around 1:00, 1:30 [a.m.] and I usually like to get eight to nine hours of sleep. Then, I’ll have breakfast around 9:00 and take a nap for another hour. You have to eat the right things, but you have to eat four to five times a day, so, you could have energy. If I have a night and a day game, I just make adjustments - wake up earlier and just go out there and play. I’d wake up at 8:00, 8:30, have breakfast and then come here [to Citi Field]. You just have to make the adjustment. You think sleeping doesn’t affect you, but it really does. It’s going to affect you - either your energy or you might dehydrate because you didn’t sleep well."

“My sleeping schedule has evolved, shifted, and changed a lot over the years. I got to the Major Leagues at 21 years old, so, needless to say, my sleep habit was a little bit different than it is now. I would stay up very, very late and wake up very, very late. As I got a little older, I really tried to get up and get moving around. I don’t necessarily have an hour pattern that I try to stick to. [Ideally] seven to nine [hours]. But I try to get up by 9:30 [a.m.]. Then, I had kids and that changed a lot. One thing I realized having kids is you do not need nearly as much sleep as you think you need. But say if we’re going to the West coast, sometimes we go on three-city road trips and you’re on planes a lot. It comes down to just getting sleep. I don’t try to put anything into a certain box or schedule. I try to get as much sleep as I can. Once I get over to a time zone, when I wake up, I wake up. My body gets adjusted to it and I just go about my business. I think baseball, for sure, has tried to get to get in front of it, putting sleeping rooms in stadiums because I think they realize that sleep is very important. In the offseason, I’m very regimented with my sleep schedule. I’m in bed before 9:00 [p.m.] and I’m up at 6:00, 6:15 [a.m.]. I feel like you get a lot done in the morning, you’re a little bit more clear-minded then. I like to do some hunting, too, so I get up early to do that. But I definitely cherish my sleep. I think it’s important.”

"During the season, I always make sure I’m in bed by 10 p.m. My fiancée and I watch an episode of one of our favorite Netflix shows and then turn everything off for the night. I can’t sleep with a fan on because it makes me stuffy the next morning, so I always make sure I have the fan off and the blinds down and at least two blankets. I don’t use any products to help me sleep better, except my Sleep Number bed, if you consider it a product. If it was a long, hard practice or we had a game that day, I definitely try to be in bed earlier as I’m physically and mentally exhausted. I know that I will need more rest in order to recover more quickly for what is to come the following day. I get weekly massages to aid in my rest and recovery. You really have to take care of your body when you’re in the facility and when you’re at home. When I focus on sleep and get better quality sleep instead of more quantity, I always feel better. If I get a great nights sleep, I do feel that I perform better as I’ve rested well and have more energy to do so. I always ask my fiancée what my “sleep number was last night” just to see if I really did sleep well - then I try to beat it the next night."

“As I’ve gotten older, I don’t require as much sleep as I did. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older. I didn’t sleep well when I played [in the NFL, either]. I have never been a great sleeper. I have so much on my mind and I’m so anxious. I have to read up on so much [to be prepared for Undisputed]. I’m in bed, asleep by 9:30, 10:00; 10:30 p.m. the latest. Five, six hours is plenty good for me. I do nap during the day. If I’m just resting, I’m OK. I try not to work out late.”