Hammers bring in ‘sleep geek’ to help their Women’s Super League aces unwind after matches
WEST HAM have enlisted the help of a sleep specialist to help their dreams come true. James Wilson, 42, became passionate about slumber therapy after some restless nights as a teen winger in Rotherham’s youth team.
This season the Irons hope to improve the ninth place finish they secured in the WSL last termCredit: Getty
Now the Rotherham-bred sleep therapist has been drafted in to help the Hammers who face Manchester City the WSL later.
The co-founder of Beingwell, a firm of neuroscientists and behaviour experts, said: “At West Ham Women it’s about helping players, coaching and support staff, understand what their actual sleep type is.
“If the team plays a night game that finishes late, they might find it hard to sleep because they have lots of adrenaline, cortisol and wake-up hormones rushing through their bodies.
“And what we will look at is what they need to do to wind down properly.
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“We might get them to watch something funny or trashy on TV, or have them do meditation or breathing exercises, depending what works best for them.”
Irons boss Olli Harder said: “Players are well aware of the benefits of sleep in terms of their recovery and from a mental side as well, so they have adapted well to it.
“The bottom line here is this if it helps the players perform better then more power to it.”
Doncaster-born Wilson has also worked with Sheffield United’s men in the 2018-19 season when they won promotion to the Premier League.
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And he has provided his slumber services to his team Rotherham, and their League One rivals Lincoln.
This involved helping players to identify whether they were ‘larks’ or ‘owls’ as sleepers and shining a light on what constitutes a good night’s rest.
Wilson explained: “You have got early types, who are larks, and the other end you have late types, who we call owls.
“But most people sit somewhere in the middle of those two categories.”
West Ham have turned to James Wilson to provide advice to players on the quality of their sleep More