The Complexity of Sleep In Matt McCarthy’s Nap Time, he discusses the “most mysterious” of all needs - sleep. McCarthy uses the story of Mike Napoli to introduce this topic. Napoli’s story of his struggle with severe sleep apnea includes some abnormal elements. Firstly, he cites his “first dream in a decade” that he can actually remember (p. 49). The reason Napoli is now able to remember his dreams is due to the fact that he is no longer waking up “fifty to one hundred times a night,” Due to a seven-hour procedure called maxillomandibular advancement, the Red Sox first baseman is now able to enjoy a restful slumber. The procedure, which is another peculiar element of Napoli’s story, involved simply a small power saw used to cut and reconstruct …show more content…
Dr. Christopher Winter, medical director, led a study about “how time-zone changes affect outcomes in major league baseball,” (p. 49). After recording the amount of times a team crossed a time zone, Dr. Winter has uncovered that a team that is forced to cross a time zone in order to play their next game has a slight disadvantage compared to a team that does not cross a time zone. An even more shocking result explains that a team that crosses three different time zones has only a forty percent chance of victory. In relation to this finding, Dr. Winter has also discovered that sleep deprivation affects a baseball player’s longevity playing in the major leagues. “‘Our research shows that sleepy players don’t tend to stay in major league baseball as long as well-rested players,’” says Dr. Winter (p. 50). Sleep deprivation for these players means impaired reflexes, judgement, motivation, healing, as well as attention, which all prove to be extremely important for any athlete. These two discoveries lead to the conclusion that the outcomes of major league baseball games are not based totally on talent. There are many other factors that are included in a victory on the baseball game; sleep and time zones being only two of said factors. Dr. Winter’s research most likely applies to other sports as well. Overall, this information