The Hammers bring in “sleepreaks” to help their women’s Super League aces wind down after games

WEST HAM enlisted the help of a sleep specialist to help her dreams come true.

James Wilson, 42, developed a passion for snooze therapy after a troubled few nights as a youthful winger in Rotherham’s youth team.

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Now the Rotherham-bred sleep therapist has been drafted in to help the Hammers, who are having to face up Manchester City the WSL later.

The co-founder of Beingwell, a firm of neuroscientists and behavioral experts, said: “At west ham Women are all about helping players, coaches and support staff understand what their actual sleep type is.

“If the team is playing a night game that ends late, they may have a hard time sleeping because they are pumping a lot of adrenaline, cortisol and wake-up hormones through their bodies.

“And we’re going to look at what they need to do to really relax.

“We might get them to watch something funny or trashy on TV, or have them do meditation or breathing exercises, whichever works best for them.”

Irons boss Olli Harder said: “The players are aware of the benefits of sleep in terms of their recovery and also mentally and have therefore adapted well to it.

“The bottom line here is if it helps players perform better, then more power.”

Doncaster-born Wilson has also been involved Sheffield United Men in the 2018/19 season when they won promotion to the Premier League.

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And he has provided his pajama services to his team Rotherham and their League One rivals Lincoln.

This included helping players discern whether they were “larks” or “owls” as sleepers, and shedding light on what constitutes a good night’s sleep.

Wilson explained, “You have early types that are larks, and on the other end you have late types that we call owls.

“But most people fall somewhere in the middle of those two categories.”

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