Two years ago, Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith regularly fell asleep while watching game video late into the night. Then a sleep scientist came knocking and told him how his bad habits were likely impacting the way he played football.
Fast forward to the current NFL season and Smith says that the technologies he uses to sleep each night, and not the sophisticated player-tracking chips and analytics used throughout the league, are helping him perform better on the field.
“I’m more of an old school guy when it comes to training,” Smith said. “I’ll time things and see where I’m at strength wise.