Canucks boss teams with sleep expert
19/11/2008
The general manager of an American ice hockey team has teamed up with a sleep expert to get the very best out of his players this season.
Mike Gillis of the Vancouver Canucks has employed a military sleep specialist to find the best ways to combine a productive sleep pattern and hockey training to encourage better results out of his players.
As part of the exercise, players are now required to wear a bracelet to measure biorhythms which detect sleeping and waking patterns, with the data measured in order to adjust the schedule for the team and even the pairings of players for hotel rooms.
Commenting on the changes to the system, strength and conditioning coach Roger Takahashi told Globe Sports that anything the team can do to take the "if factor out of the equation" is beneficial for their development and title hopes.
He continued: "We can''t control what''s happening on the ice but we can control everything else. Anything we can control, we''ll do it."
Last year, a study by Stanford University''s professors and basketball team found that extra sleep improved athletic performance, with players sprinting faster and getting better shooting percentages.
