Take a Nap

Justin Peters questions NFL coaches habit of claiming to work so hard that they almost never sleep. I certainly hope the coaches are just lying about this. That kind of long-term sleep-deprivation is going to do way more damage to your ability to keep a level head and make good decisions than any possible extra preparation time could compensate for.

Comments

Didn't Bill Clinton say he slept like 4 or 5 hours a day?

Posted by dj moonbat | September 10, 2006 1:32 PM

And of course, G-Dub is legendarily well-rested, but the guy can't make a good decision to save his life.

Posted by dj moonbat | September 10, 2006 1:33 PM

Thomas Edison made the same claim, and he was caught cheating. Napoleon made a similiar claim (3-4 hours a night). I think that 5-6 hours is possible for a lot of people. I think that people need to sleep less when they're the boss or when they love their work; part of sleep time is just escaping from reality, and if reality is good to you, you need less.

Posted by John Emerson | September 10, 2006 2:26 PM

Speaking of football coaches, must the TV directors cut to the coach before every play? They are always doing the same thing: looking at pile of papers (or laminated sheets) and talking into their microphone with the papers covering their mouth. Surely there is something more interesting out there...like the WRs taking their places, the linemen getting set, the LBs calling out the coverage.

Posted by meander | September 10, 2006 2:48 PM

I ll admit it. I cannot function with less than 8 hours of sleep; to be honest, i think that my natural clock is set at 9 hours.

Posted by Nick Kaufman | September 10, 2006 8:50 PM

I think a lot of people mis-estimate (either up or down) how much sleep they get.

Posted by flippantangel | September 10, 2006 9:04 PM

Being an NFL coach is very stressful job, but so is crack dealing. Both jobs people are breathing down your neck because they want something from you, you have to deliver all of the time, and 'hoes be all up in your shizzle for a rock. OK, that last one is just for the NFL coaches.

Posted by Clay | September 10, 2006 11:31 PM

Hey, Bill Bellichik apparently did get into the 'hoes this off season. When did he have time to maintain a mistress and break up a marriage?

Posted by MQ | September 11, 2006 1:52 AM

Just finished reading Jennifer Allen's memoir of growing up with an obsessive coach as father. I wanted to see for myself what she had to say about her brother, our Macaca senator, but came away realizing what a nut George Allen senior was. He was rarely at home and seemed to have no life whatsoever outside of coaching.

Posted by Hedley Lamarr | September 11, 2006 10:29 AM