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If LeBron James Needs Rest and Recovery, You Probably Do Too
Hustle culture isn’t doing you any favors
LeBron James told the productivity guru Tim Ferriss on his show that he sleeps eight or nine hours each night. Sometimes 10. If the basketball star can’t get that stretch in at night, he’ll catch up with a two-hour nap.
And it’s not just sleep that’s vital to James’ regime: As he chatted with Ferriss, you could hear some rustling in the background. His trainer of 15 years, Mike Mancias, explained that the athlete was applying ice to his knees.
“Recovery never stops,” Mancias said. That’s the sentence to remember.
“If LeBron plays 40 minutes one night, if he plays 28 minutes one night,” said Mancias, “we’re still going to keep recovery as our number one focus, whether that be in nutrition, whether that be in hydration, more flexibility exercises, stuff in the weight room. It’s a never-ending process, really. And I think that’s the approach that we must take in order for us to be successful.”
James isn’t the only top athlete who’s obsessive about quality shut-eye. Usain Bolt, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Steve Nash also cite lots of sleep as crucial to their performance. It’s obvious that sleep is essential — not just for physically demanding activities like sports…
