Can’t sleep? Here are some tips to help Phillies fans get some shut-eye
Phillies fans: `I can't sleep.' Some pro tips from the team's sleep expert might help.
Jarrett Hood usually has no trouble falling asleep and snoozing through the night, sometimes snoring away.
“I can sleep pretty much on an instant, like on a dime,” said Hood, 31, who lives in Harrisburg. “Every girl I’ve ever dated has had a huge issue with how quick I can fall asleep.”
Last Sunday night, when the Phillies scored a spot to compete in the World Series for the first time since 2009, his personal life was rocked by something even rarer: Hood woke up in the middle of the night, his mind buzzing like an alarm clock. By 4:07 a.m., he was in a fevered pitch. He grabbed his phone and tweeted, “The Phillies are going to the World Series and I can’t sleep already.”
» READ MORE: Will the Phillies win the World Series? Depends, in part, on whether players get good sleep
“I did lay there, trying to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t,” Hood said. “So I just got on my phone and started going through everything with the Phillies.”
That was a rookie mistake, according to Chris Winter, the neurologist and sleep expert who has consulted for the Phillies since 2018. Do not scroll through your phone before bedtime, he tells players.
For jittery Phillies fans finding sleep elusive during the World Series, here are some pro tips from Winter, who also hosts a podcast called Sleep Unplugged:
Don’t drink alcohol before bedtime. It’s a misconception that it helps with sleep.
Prescription sedatives and other sleep aids, like Tylenol PM, might help you get to sleep but won’t improve performance the next day. If you have a big presentation at work, don’t take anything.
Stick to a schedule, including bedtime. Exercise daily and get enough exposure to light during daylight hours.
Make sure your bedroom is at a comfortable temperature.
When traveling between time zones, give your body about 24 hours to adjust. Take earplugs and a sleep mask for the plane ride.
If you can’t sleep, don’t stress. Just resting in bed, perhaps deep breathing, is restorative.
Take a 15-minute power nap or rest daily. In other words, “be a sleep camel.”
“That’s what I once told the Phillies, and they had no idea what I was talking about,” Winter said. “At some point, if the camel comes across water, I’m guessing they drink it whether they’re that thirsty or not, because they don’t know where they’re going to get an opportunity to drink again. So if you have a chance to rest, take that opportunity.”