Eagles

With this Daily Routine, it’s a Wonder that Cam Newton is Able to Function

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Dec 29th, 2020 · 10:01 AM EST

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If you were watching and enjoying the Buffalo Bills beating the brakes off the New England Patriots on Monday night, you probably saw a Cam Newton graphic on your TV screen.

It was a small lower third that explained the quarterback’s morning routine, looking like this:

There’s a lot to unpack here.

First, it’s insane that somebody can leave the house 10 minutes after the alarm goes off. Most of us are smashing the snooze button and barely getting out of bed by the time he’s out the door.

Second, Newton is going three and a half hours in the morning without coffee. You and I would be lucky to make it three and a half minutes without coffee.

And then at the bottom of the graphic it says he’s asleep at 11:30 p.m., which looked like an error to me. It looked like somebody messed up something, because going to bed at that time means he’s only getting about five hours of sleep per night, so either the guy is superman or he’s taking a long nap in the afternoon. He HAS to be napping throughout the day because nobody can function on five hours of sleep, let alone a professional football player.

This last part is crazy when you consider how much the sports science and athletic performance folks have emphasized sleep in recent years. LeBron sleeps 8-10 hours a night. Michael Phelps and Roger Federer? 8 to 12 hours total, napping included. Chip Kelly used to make his Eagles players wear a sleep monitor. We’ve come a long way in realizing that recovery is just as important as any kind of exercise or dietary routine that you follow when you are conscious.

That schedule is insane. Just writing about it makes me sleepy.