We’re all aware of the #selfcare movement by now, but when top athlete LeBron James shared that he sleeps between eight and ten hours sleep a night - and tops up his shuteye with the odd 2-hour nap here and there - we had to delve deeper into the importance of rest, especially for this level of high-performing individuals:

LeBron James’ trainer states, in response to this sleep revelation, that “recovery never stops - 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.”

Recovery is the number one focus for this athlete’s - and any others’ - career. 

But it’s not just for physical rest. Our body and minds are totally intertwined (we all know how good exercise makes us feel, right?) and so sleep of course has the same level importance for our mental recovery, too.

If you have a desk job but the work you do is particularly creative or analytical, you still warrant the required number of hours sleep to recover and rejuvenate after a day at the office. Heck, just spending time with people can take it out of you!

Sleep is already a basic, fundamental human need that gets so abused in today’s society - and without the stigma. (Sleep is up there with food and shelter, but when we’re lacking one of these, it’s a serious issue. Sleep doesn’t get treated with the same level of importance in our society today, and we need to change that).

Beyond this, we need to change the way we view sleep from a necessity to simply recover from the day we’ve had, to a non-negotiable “must” that’s respected and - shock, horror - enjoyed. We all need more hours of sleep and we all need to improve the quality of our sleep, but first we need a huge shift in societal attitudes and awareness to achieve this.

Read our other blog post for our top tips on how to get a better night’s sleep, here: https://www.whispersleep.com/blogs/the-snooze/the-secrets-to-a-better-nights-sleep

If LeBron James does it, so can you.

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