After what can only be described as a topsy-turvy campaign, Everton’s players will be head into the off-season in a positive frame of mind.
Relegation from the Premier League looked to be a distinct possibility before the club appointed David Moyes for his second stint as manager in January.
Moyes has guided the club away from trouble into the calmer waters of mid-table and will be able to reflect on a job well-done at the end of the season.
Everton have yet to confirm when pre-season training for the 2025/26 campaign will start, but July 7 is a likely option based on previous history.
That would give the players six-weeks to rest and recover before starting preparations for their fist season playing out of Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium.
The club’s coaching staff will hand each of the players an individual training plan to follow during this period to ensure they maintain a reasonable level of core fitness.
This will cover elements such as basic stretching, light fitness work and nutrition. Sleep is another important element which will be incorporated into the plan.
With football on the shelf for a few weeks, some players may think this is a good opportunity to indulge in excessive behavioural extremes.
Late nights may start to become commonplace, which can have a significant impact on recovery processes and athletic performance further down the line.
Simba Sleep, a company famed for its innovative Hybrid® mattresses and mattress toppers, has conducted extensive research into the impact a lack of sleep can have on athletes.
Those in-depth studies have informed the design of products such as bed pillows that can help people enjoy top quality sleep every night.
Other research has shown that sleep issues are prevalent across the United Kingdom, with around one-third of the population failing to get the requisite amount of rest.
That figure rises to more than 50 percent in elite athletes, which can make them more susceptible to injuries and hinder their performances.
According to the Guardian, addictions to sleeping tablets and the tobacco product snus have become more common in professional football in recent years.
Sleep expert Dr Eidn Mahmoudzadeh has been working with Premier League clubs and their players to gain a greater understanding of the issues.
“Because of the prevalence of sleeping problems in football, there’s a lot of unhealthy habits being developed,” Mahmoudzadeh said.
“Many are dependent on sleeping tablets to get them off to sleep, particularly, but not exclusively, after night games. The issue with that is they are not good for you in the long term.”
Mahmoudzadeh’s research will be particularly pertinent to Everton, who will be eager to ensure none of their current players experience what one of their former midfielders experienced.
In an interview with The Overlap in 2023, Dele Alli revealed that he was addicted to sleeping tablets and drinking to ‘escape from the reality’ of his troubled upbringing.
“I got addicted to sleeping tablets and it’s probably a problem that not only I have,” Alli said. “I think it’s something that’s going around more than people realise in football.
“With our schedule you have a game, you have to be up early in the morning to train, you have all the adrenaline and stuff so sometimes to take a sleeping tablet and be ready for the next day is fine.
“But when your dopamine system and you’re as broken as I am it can obviously have the reverse effect, because it does work for the problems you want to deal with and that is the problem – it works until it doesn’t. I definitely abused them.”
Alli’s revelations undoubtedly still hold resonance today given that the annual football calendar has become even more congested.
This summer’s Club World Cup in the United States has been widely criticised for placing even more demands on an already hectic schedule.
Everton are also heading across the Atlantic Ocean to take part in the Premier League Summer Series, which some people believe is detrimental to their pre-season preparations.
Mahmoudzadeh says that maintaining a regular sleep pattern has become increasingly difficult for elite level players due to their workload.
He believes that it is unsurprising that players are turning to sleep medication, but has urged football authorities to do more to tackle the issue.
“Sleeping tablets can lead to both physical dependence and psychological dependence,” he added.
“They don’t give you natural sleep and are a sedative, so they basically suppress all brain functions, which is why people lose memory.
“Their sedative effect helps you drift off, but that doesn’t end up producing natural sleep cycles, so when they wake up, sometimes they get a hangover from the drug itself but they also haven’t had good quality sleep and don’t get the benefits necessarily of the sleep.”