Warriors Have Embraced Sleep Tactics To Stay Sharp
What is it about the Golden State Warriors this season? Sure they have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, young pieces still developing, and a deeply skilled roster, but the 51-12 Warriors are doing what they can to stay sharp and keep an edge.
One of those things is getting the right amount of rest, emphasized by first-year head coach Steve Kerr. As told by Jane McCauley on NBA.com via AP:
Kerr is making sure his Warriors get plenty of sleep, too, thanks to a recent session with a sleep expert from Stanford who visited practice.
The sleep expert’s name is Cheri Mah. She is a researcher at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory. Mah has worked with other professional teams in the NBA, NFL, and NHL.
“It’s one of the first things we sacrifice but one of the most important,” Mah said Thursday. “Changing time zones frequently, that can affect circadian rhythms. Really, it was addressing improving and optimizing sleep and recovery.”
“I know how important recovery is,” All-Star guard Klay Thompson said. “We play such a long season. And I love to sleep, so it was good hearing that if you want to be at optimal peak performance you’ve got to get your eight hours, or at least try to. You can’t be hanging out long hours at night.”
“We try to stay on top of all that. It’s almost impossible to stay 100 percent the whole NBA season with all the travel and stuff going around,” Kerr said, then shared what he has learned: “Put your phone in a different place than beside your bed, charge it in a different room so you’re not tempted to wake up in the middle of the night and look at it. And don’t spend the last 20 minutes before bed looking at your phone or watching TV. Pick up a book, read a book, calm your mind a little bit.”
If you ask me, Kerr is completely rubbing off on his mentor Phil Jackson. The Zen Master is known to employ simple well-being tactics with his players to keep them fresh and engaged, like offering reading material and having interpersonal dialogues before practice.
You have to admire what Kerr is doing as a first time head coach with this Warriors team, who shot up as the best team in the league this season. Kerr knows the rigors of an NBA season and he also happens to know what it takes to be prepared for a championship run, at least as a player.
The Warriors have been dynamite this season. In order to replicate that firepower where it matters, in the postseason, proper rest seems like a good priority. In essence, the Warriors hope to keep causing nightmares for their opponents.
