Alarms, blue light and nappuccinos: how to stay awake for late night sports

Coffee-clutching, bleary-eyed Australian sports fans are embracing the immortal words of Jon Bon Jovi this month: “You can sleep when you’re dead.”

That’s because July is delivering an RSL-sized smörgåsbord of northern hemisphere sport. While the Women’s World Cup may be time zone-friendly for Australians for the first time ever, there’s still men’s and women’s cricket, including the remaining Ashes series; the Open Championship in the United Kingdom and Tour de France and Le Tour Femmes in western Europe; and Formula One, where Australian Daniel Ricciardo is back behind the wheel. And it’s all happening past most people’s bed times, prompting many to choose between sleep and sporting stimulation.

Dr Kathleen Maddison, an academic and research fellow at the University of Western Australia’s Centre for Sleep Science, recommends resting well ahead of planned nights in front of the box, rather than trying to make it up.

“Catch-up sleep is really, really hard to do. So, a bit like preparing for a marathon, it can be wise to get as much sleep as you can – not be in ‘sleep debt’ – before you know you’re going to be getting less than usual,” she says.

But once you’ve committed, what are the best ways to stay awake? We asked some seasoned night-shifters to share their tricks.

You snooze, you lose

Confessed sports addict AJ Mithen, who co-hosts A Sporting Discussion on Melbourne’s 3RRR, says naps are never the answer. “I simply don’t trust myself to go to sleep, then wake up for whatever sport I am planning to watch that night … especially as I get older,” the 45-year-old father of two says. “Resist and push though!”

However, Maddison believes a “structured nap of 20 minutes with an alarm set” can do wonders. “If you sleep any longer you get into the next cycle, which is much harder to wake from, and why many people report being grumpy or sluggish.”

On the east coast of Australia, the hour-long lunch break during Ashes Tests falls at 10pm this series. On social media, many red-ball enthusiasts have shared their fondness for this brief slumber window, setting multiple alarms to wake themselves up afterwards.

But, a little like setting a leg-side trap, Maddison says the strategy’s success may vary. “It’s a complex question because it really depends on the type of person you are … There are definitely people who do better at late-night sports watching and can wake up OK to an alarm after not much sleep. Then other people will just really struggle.”

Soak up that blue light!

The blue light emitted from smartphones is often cited as a sleep inhibitor, which is why Georgia Rajic – a Formula One, football and netball devotee from Melbourne – swears by the “second screen experience”.

“I don’t think I could stay awake for half the sport I regularly do without being on my phone,” says Rajic, whose passion for sport has seen her move into A-League Women commentary.

Maddison says this strategy could work well – any light has a direct impact on human circadian rhythms, so a phone will keep most people wakeful. “There’s also the content you’re looking at … if it’s arousing in terms of mental capacity, that will keep you awake too.”

Make a meal of it

Lawyer, Tour de France aficionado and all-around sports fanatic Marika McMahon says meticulous menu planning is her secret to a magnifique late-night sport session.

Whether it’s homemade, Waitrose-inspired snacks to accompany a five-set epic at Wimbledon, “stage-matched” wine and cheese packs delivered from Melbourne cheese shop Maker and Monger for when le Tour hits the Alps, or champagne in flutes for the final day on the Champs-Élysées, Instagram-worthy treats and tipples matter.

“Given the time difference, the Tour can be especially tough, but you can’t fall asleep when you have something delicious to look forward to, can you?”

Don’t go it alone

It’s nearly impossible to find a modern sports fan on the night shift who doesn’t engage in some kind of conversation with other equally committed souls, whether it’s le Tour tragics following #couchpeloton on social media or the ping-ping-ping of chats via messaging apps.

This sporting chit-chat is essential, Rajic says. She might scroll through Twitter “following the brilliant F1 memes, which are so central to that particular fandom”, or break down a centre pass set-play in a game of netball being played on the other side of the world with other “netty heads” in her Facebook DMs.

“It’s all about the engagement and being part of that community,” she says. “And if you’ve committed to staying the course, that’s extra motivation.”

Try a next-day nappuccino

Enlightened all-nighters prepare for the “morning after”, Mithen says, by arranging to work from home, starting later, or simply lowering output expectations. “If you’re at home with young kids, you don’t get a choice – you just have to endure. I go with two coffees in the morning and zombify myself,” he says.

When interacting with other humans is essential, choose them wisely. “Make sure they’ve done a similar thing, so they feel your pain!”

For those who know they need sleep, Maddison suggests trying a “nappuccino”.

“There is science to show that having a coffee – which we know is a stimulant and can take 20 to 30 minutes to kick in – then going for a 20-minute nap, with an alarm on to wake up, can be beneficial. You wake up, the caffeine has hit and you’re good to go.”

Have you got a tried and tested strategy for late night sport sessions? Let us know in the comments