A leading sleep expert says use of sleeping tablets is “rife” in football following Dele Alli’s revelation of addiction and has called for more education in the game.
Alli laid bare his struggles in an emotional interview with Gary Neville, where he also spoke of suffering sexual abuse as a child and revealed he had undergone a stint in rehab to battle his problems.
The Everton midfielder is the latest player to suggest it is a common problem in the game after former Football League defender Ryan Cresswell opened up on his troubles to the PA news agency last year, saying it was a “big issue” among his peers.
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Sleep expert James Wilson, who has worked at West Ham, Rotherham and Lincoln, agrees it is a concern but said the pills are counter-productive for good sleep.
“You hear stories from players and members of staff that say, ‘You should go and work with this club because every single first-team player is taking sleeping pills every single night’,” he told PA.
“They are not generally good for your sleep and they are not good for recovery so that is why they are not a good idea in football. The fact they are addictive is the cherry on the cake in saying why we should not be using sleeping pills, especially as a first line of defence.
“In society in general we don’t understand the use of sleeping pills. The use is more rife in football because the job itself contributes to poor sleep, the night after a midweek game in particular footballers find it harder to sleep.
“There are two issues, one is which Dele has highlighted is that they can be addictive, depending on what type of pill it is.
“But also the sleeping tablet doesn’t give you sleep, it knocks you out. Sleeping pills impact on REM sleep and that is the stage where you go through an overnight counselling session, where your brain files the information from the day before.
“Without that REM sleep, the sleeping pill without him knowing will have contributed to him not being able deal with his mental health issues he was living with.”
Wilson attributes no blame to club doctors for prescribing sleeping pills, citing a lack of training, and says more education and a cultural change is needed across football.
“It is about education, we need to be educating players younger about sleep and we need to support players around their mental health,” he said.
“Often poor sleep can be caused by things going on in the players’ lives and I think within men’s football in particular we are not great at supporting men’s feelings. There needs to be more done there.
“There needs to be better-trained staff. It is more about nutrionisits, physios, or sports therapists having a better understanding of sleep so they can advise better.
“There also needs to be a cultural change. If senior and successful players are taking them then younger players look up to them and it becomes a myth.
“It is a better education, it is a better access to good sleep alternatives and that is for both players and staff.
“The problem in football is that we approach sleep like we approach training: the harder I try the better I get. If I put X, Y, Z in, I’ll get X, Y, Z out but sleep is not like that.
“It is about being in the right physiological state, dropping the heart rate, dropping core temperature. It is about being emotionally and physically secure. Natures of the job cannot create that. The more we accept that, the better our sleep will be.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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