As the NBA and NHL playoffs start, The Atlantic writes an in-depth story about how sleep specialist Dr Charles Czeisler advises rest, not more practice, for championship teams.
“If you don’t sleep the night after training, then even if you sleep the next night or the next night, you never learn.” Czeisler is a tenured professor at Harvard Medical School and a go-to expert for professional sports teams from every major league. In the age of analytics-as-religion, teams are looking for every possible way to squeeze more skill out of elite athletes. They consult experts on everything from the number of minutes a player should be on the court to how many fourth down conversions they should attempt.
But Czeisler recommends something much simpler: more sleep. Professional athletes need the same thing as new parents.
