Conventional wisdom suggests that if you take a good athlete and give them frequent practice and repetition they will be successful at improving their performance and they will be able to continue to perform at a high level. More recently athletes have become more aware of the connection between diet and athletic performance.
However, there are times when no matter what you do in practice and what food you put in your body you struggle to perform. Sometimes the key to improving athletic performance is to examine your sleep habits. This is even true for professional athletes.
Carlos Gonzalez’s 2017 Season
Major League Baseball outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, a three-time All-Star, had one of the worst stretches of his career during the first half of the 2017 season with the Colorado Rockies. He hit a meager .221 in the first half with a poor .299 on-base percentage to go along with a .388 slugging percentage. His batting average in June was just .172 and went homerless during the entire month of July.
During this time Carlos tried doing everything he could to get out of his slump, but nothing seemed to work. Then in late August, he went to see a sleep specialist.