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Swansea City FC Install Sleep Pods To Increase Wellbeing During Tough Pre-Season Training

Swansea City Have A Nifty New Way To Improve Their Game

As football season approaches, Swansea City have increased the intensity of their training schedule.

But physically challenging demands need to be met with mental rest, which is why the club installed 30 new 'Snoozeboxes' on site to help the team cope with their hectic regimes.

The sleep pods, which sat pitch-side at their Landore training ground, are innovative creations which are inflatable and big enough to fit a double bed.

The idea was that players could grab forty winks after a hardcore training session, leaving them refreshed enough to begin again afterwards.

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Speaking about the snoozeboxes, which have since been returned as they were on loan, midfielder Jack Cork told the Guardian: "I tell people I'm in a sleep pod and they're like: What's that?'."

"It's just literally a door and a room with a bed in it, but I'm straight in there and straight down, otherwise I'd have to go home. I live about half an hour away and when I come back it's school traffic, so for me it's easier to get your head down in the pod."

Meanwhile Swansea's head of sport science, Jonny Northeast, revealed: "Pre-season is where the volume of work is at its highest, so it's important we try and provide the players with as many recovery strategies as we can in order to get the best out of them on the pitch."

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It's not the first time that sport and wellbeing have collided.

Andy Murray recently revealed that he was working with a closely with a sports psychiatrist in the run up to Wimbledon.

Sports psychiatry is playing an ever-growing role in helping athletes improve their mental performance when competing and football clubs such as Fulham, West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and Crystal Palace have all reportedly hired therapists in the past to help players prepare for big matches.

Meanwhile gold medallist Etienne Scott, is a keen advocate of meditation app Headspace.

Scott believes that there is a connection between high powered performance and a strong mind.

Speaking to HuffPost UK Lifestyle previously, he said: "It is a complicated technical game - we’re training physically and in winter it’s very cold. But truthfully, the hardest thing to deal with is frustration and mental demands – you’re trying to understand so many different variables that are changing, from the water conditions to what your crew mate might be doing.

"Frustration is very high and it's easy to get angry - it’s a mentally demanding sport."

The slalom canoe racer added that meditation has helped him to be the best version of himself, "or at least helps me work towards who I aspire to be".

He added: "If you can accept the true version of yourself, it has a massive effect on other people."

Foods That Help You Sleep
Cherries(01 of10)
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Cherries naturally boost levels of melatonin (a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate the sleep cycle), so try ditching your sleeping pills for a glass of tart cherry juice before hitting the hay. (credit:Brian Macdonald via Getty Images)
Dark Chocolate(02 of10)
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Alongside its other health benefits, dark chocolate can help you to get a good night’s sleep too. Nutritionist Cynthia Pasquella says that it contains serotonin, which relaxes your body and mind. (credit:Jacek Nowak via Getty Images)
Almonds(03 of10)
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Just a handful of almonds will help you to doze off in the evening. "Almonds are a winner,” says Jacob Teitelbaum, author of the bestselling book From Fatigued to Fantastic! “They contain magnesium, which promotes both sleep and muscle relaxation," he says. (credit:Daniel Grill via Getty Images)
Camomile Tea(04 of10)
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Swap your evening caffeine fix for a cup of camomile tea. Drinking this herbal tea will help you get your snooze on faster, as it lacks the caffeine most teas have and is associated with an increase of glycine, a chemical that relaxes nerves and muscles. (credit:Maximilian Stock Ltd. via Getty Images)
Kale(05 of10)
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Kale is not only good for your health and diet, but will help you get your beauty sleep too. Loaded with calcium, green leafy vegetables help the brain use tryptophan to manufacture melatonin and serotonin - while keeping your diet in check too. (credit:jrwasserman via Getty Images)
Honey(06 of10)
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Try adding honey to your tea before bed time. It contains natural sugar that slightly raises insulin levels and allows tryptophan (an amino-acid that makes us sleepy) to enter the brain more easily. (credit:rvbox via Getty Images)
Walnuts(07 of10)
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Walnuts are a good source of tryptophan, a sleep-enhancing amino acid that helps make serotonin and melatonin, the “body clock” hormone that sets your sleep-wake cycles, according to the NHS. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Bananas(08 of10)
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Bananas contain the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan, which promotes relaxation. Saundra Dalton-Smith, author of Set Free to Live Free: Breaking Through the 7 Lies Women Tell Themselves says: “Bananas are an excellent source of magnesium and potassium, which help to relax overstressed muscles." (credit:James Ross via Getty Images)
Oily fish(09 of10)
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Most oily fish (especially tuna and salmon) boast vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin, so a nice tuna salad or salmon dish could just make you drift off more easily. (credit:Iain Bagwell via Getty Images)
Jasmine Rice(10 of10)
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Jasmine rice has a high glycemic index, so the body digests it as a slow speed, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream. It also boosts the production of tryptophan and serotonin so eating it will significantly reduce the time it takes you to fall asleep. (credit:MIB Pictures via Getty Images)