The most pervasive and influential sports sponsors like Anheuser-Busch InBev have their in-house experts, of course. A-B InBev has its brewmasters developing extensions like Bud Light Lime or the “USDA organic certified” Michelob Ultra Pure Gold. Likewise, the flavor scientists within PepsiCo and Frito-Lay toil to bring now forgotten flavors like Crystal Pepsi and Lay’s Bacon Mac N Cheese chips to market, along with current hits, like Cheetos Crunchy Buffalo.
At Sleep Number, an NFL corporate patron since 2018, there’s a particular sort of expertise resident not found at other sports sponsors. At a company where you can spend upward of $10,000 on a “smart bed,” it employs a PhD who’s been specializing in sleep for almost two decades. With Sleep Number mattresses now in the homes of more than 80% of NFL players, Sleep Numbers Head of Sleep Mark Aloia tells some of the league’s athletes and coaches how best to slumber with nearly the same acumen an NFL team’s offensive coordinator schemes to beat the Cover 2.
Mark Aloia has data to share to help NFL athletes and others sleep well.Courtesy of Sleep Number
When the NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs recently flew across six time zones to play the Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany, Aloia counseled the team on how best to regulate their flights, balancing meals and naps. Did that make a difference or were those two fumbles by the Dolphins that decided the game made by those among the sleep deprived?
Hard to tell definitively what made the difference, but there are noteworthy insights gained by overlaying data from Sleep Number’s smart beds with on-field performance. Aloia, a clinical psychologist and researcher when he’s not working for Sleep Number, said players with insufficient sleep will have more penalties. Sleep-deprived NFL players are 1.7 times more likely to be injured, according to his research. Surely that’s enough to gain any coach’s attention. Aloia’s advice to them: “Simple things like utilization of light and timing of meals can go a long way to helping players adjust.”
And at the top level, every athlete is looking for even the slightest of edges. Last year, Aloia showed Vikings WR Justin Jefferson how his sleep and performance data intersected. The result: Jefferson was convinced he needed more eight-hour nights.
“Every year I talk with Sleep Number’s doctor about the importance of my sleep data,” he said. “The nights where I sleep eight hours, my performance is better. That sleep makes a difference — the more sleep you have, the better performance you have.”
The growing importance of mental health has produced a greater appreciation regarding the value of sleep. Along with Sleep Number’s beds (Aloia says he’s slept on one for more than 20 years), there’s now a plethora of products to measure and promote optimal sleep, like the Aura ring and an endless number of apps that interface with products including Apple Watch and Google’s Fitbit. That doesn’t mean sleep has improved on the average.
“There’s a better awareness regarding the value of sleep we didn’t used to have, but I’m not sure enough people have changed their behavior regarding sleep yet,” said Aloia.
Earlier this month, he addressed the Vikings’ front-office staff, after which each had a “pillow fitting.” Aloia’s advice was basic but telling.
“Health is a broad priority for most people, but sleep often is not,” he said. “What NFL players, or really anyone, needs to do is prioritize sleep.”
Along with its NFL league rights, extended this year for an additional five, Sleep Number has team sponsorships with the Bengals, Chiefs, Cowboys, Rams and Vikings. “It’s enabled us to show our purpose and products with storytelling on a very big platform,” said Lindsey Schumer, Sleep Number’s senior specialist, brand partnerships.
Aloia is generally dealing with team trainers and psychologists, but says players have been far more attuned than he expected. “They’re engaged. They know sleep matters. Even for the general public, not sleeping as a sacrifice for work and a badge of honor — that’s starting to disappear,” he said.
Whether it’s professional athletes or anyone, the sleep doctor has three rules of slumber:
Wake time is as important as sleep hours: Nearly everyone regulates the time when they go to bed. Keeping your wake-up regular is just as vital, if not more so because “it sets your biological clock,” Aloia advised.
Wake up to light: You should be in plenty of light as soon as possible after sleep. Even on a cloudy day, there’s more light outside than in. “Light controls melatonin and melatonin controls when you sleep.”
The most abused drug in the world is caffeine: “It’s a great Band-Aid for sleeplessness, but if you continue to use a Band-Aid, the wound isn’t healing. If you really want to know if you are sleep deprived, give caffeine up for a couple of weeks and see if you’re still yawning.’’
Other principal concerns of Americans with sleep deficiencies (an alarming 50-70 million, according to one estimate) are keeping temperature and light constant in the bedroom; far too often, they vary during the night. Aloia gets asked more about ingesting melatonin than caffeine, but cautions that is unregulated in the U.S., so tough to assess its efficacy. And while everyone checking social media prior to bedtime has heard the warnings about blue light, he said recent research suggests it “might be more the activation of our minds keeping us distracted and awake than the blue light.”
Expectations would have that a cattle farmer has a steady supply of steak and that a physician’s children are in generally good health. How’s the sleep doctor’s sleep? “Generally, pretty good,” Aloia laughed. “And after nights it isn’t, I won’t worry about it much, because I know my routine is sound. I try to get people to that same place.”
Terry Lefton can be reached at tlefton@sportsbusinessjournal.com
