When I heard that NFL players on some teams have to get up as early as 5 am for training, I was absolutely astonished. I mean, who could possibly get a full night sleep and perform at their peak if they have to wake up at such an ungodly hour?! Sure, these athletes are on a mostly restricted diet and get some of the best training money can buy, but I’m sure they still need their beauty sleep like the rest of us.
I’m aware that athletes have to adhere to a strict training routine, but having to constantly stay up late and get up so early is taking it to the extreme. That was the first thing I thought when I heard about this. It seemed genuinely impossible for them to still be productive despite not getting enough sleep.
I asked around, and sure enough, the rumors were true. Most of these players have to get up as early as 5 in order to be on time for practice . Not only that, but there are apparently times in which they have to be up at the crack of dawn for additional training, which I found rather absurd. I mean, we all know that athletes have to work hard to become the best in the game, but sometimes it can go a bit too far.
The more I thought about this situation, the more questions I had in my head. Do these players ever get downtime? How much sleep are they actually getting per night? Do the early mornings have any short-term or long-term effects? I wanted to get answers, so I decided to reach out to someone in the field.
I was lucky enough to get in touch with a former NFL player, who explained the situation to me in detail. He said that these teams do their best to ensure that players get at least 8 hours of sleep each night, but that sometimes they are just too tired to make it past 5 in the morning. He also highlighted that these rigorous training camps are necessary for players to become competitive in the field.
The more he spoke about the processes and measures in place to safeguard players’ wellbeing, the more I realised that it isn’t really that bad after all. Sure, some of them have to get up extremely early for additional practice, but that’s only for a limited time. The teams work hard to make sure that, come game time, players are at the peak of their performance, through proper sleep, nutrition and training.
Even so, I still had more questions in my mind. How did the team manage to keep players motivated and performing despite such a grueling routine? Are there any methods or techniques put in place to ensure that players remain inspired and energised for a full 90 minutes? And lastly, what kind of rewards, if any, are there for players who are particularly diligent? It seemed like there was still more to find out about the whole thing.