Every NFL player can get a smart bed to track their sleep
Better-rested players could lead to better performance.
The Super Bowl is almost here, and that means one thing in the tech world besides new ads: conveniently timed sports partnerships. The NFL and Sleep Number have unveiled an agreement that will offer every league player a Sleep Number 360 smart bed. The auto-adjusting design will theoretically improve their rest, of course, but the real star is the sleep tracking. Sleep Number will work with teams to incorporate the players' habits into their training regimens, so they'll know whether or not they're getting enough sleep to make the most of their performance on the field.
The company has already been piloting efforts with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings.
Sleep definitely isn't the most pressing health issue the NFL is facing right now -- more than a few people would argue the league should be addressing head injuries first. In that sense, this deal is trivial compared to the larger problems looming over American football. Still, it does take the sports field one closer to a truly holistic view of player health where exercise and diet are just two parts of a larger picture.
