Capt Bringdown
04-27-2011, 10:16 AM
Meet Doctor Charles Czeisler (http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/person_of_interest_charles_czeisler/)
In the summer of 2009, Czeisler met with coach Doc Rivers and showed him charts and brain-imaging studies illustrating how sleep deprivation affects reaction time, memory retention, and the immune system.
The Celtics soon eliminated morning practices and instituted the “2 a.m. rule,” which holds that if the players can’t get to their hotel rooms in the next city by that time, then they stay where they are for an extra night and get their eight hours. Sound rest is all the more important for a veteran team like the Celtics, who have struggled playing games on consecutive nights. “Trying to create a window of 8 to 10 hours of sleep — it’s almost impossible during an NBA season,” Rivers says. “The way we were doing it made it completely impossible.
In the summer of 2009, Czeisler met with coach Doc Rivers and showed him charts and brain-imaging studies illustrating how sleep deprivation affects reaction time, memory retention, and the immune system.
The Celtics soon eliminated morning practices and instituted the “2 a.m. rule,” which holds that if the players can’t get to their hotel rooms in the next city by that time, then they stay where they are for an extra night and get their eight hours. Sound rest is all the more important for a veteran team like the Celtics, who have struggled playing games on consecutive nights. “Trying to create a window of 8 to 10 hours of sleep — it’s almost impossible during an NBA season,” Rivers says. “The way we were doing it made it completely impossible.