I feared I would become addicted to sleeping pills – Dele Alli’s interview hit me hard, says Brentford captain Norgaard
CHRISTIAN NORGAARD began choking up when he sat down to watch Dele Alli’s candid and tear-jerking interview two years ago.
There was one moment in particular that tugged at the Brentford captain’s heartstrings because he had been in a similar position himself.
It was when former England player Alli, 28, revealed he had spent six weeks in rehab because of a sleeping pill addiction and mental health issues.
Popping tablets most nights to nod off is, according to Alli, “something going around more than people realise in football” and he admits: “I definitely abused them too much.”
Norgaard, 31, was one such person who had dabbled with the medication but was lucky enough to avoid falling down a deep rabbit hole of long-term dependence.
Speaking for the first time about fears he may have become “addicted” like Alli, Norgaard said: “I watched Dele Alli’s interview, maybe a year back now, where he spoke about sleeping tablets.
“It was tough to watch but it was also touching and it was quite emotional for someone like me who struggled a lot with it.
“And maybe could have ended up being addicted to these sleeping tablets.”
Uniquely for a Premier League club, but unsurprising given their open-minded approach to football and wellbeing matters, Brentford have employed a ‘sleep coach’ since 2016.
Anna West helps the players get much-needed shuteye and has been instrumental in the Danish midfielder’s improved night-time patterns since he arrived in West London from Fiorentina in 2019.
He was quick to show his gratitude when he realised Alli, now with Serie A side Como, had struggled after using pills.
Norgaard continued: “I remember also sending a text to our sleeping coach Anna to say thank you for the things we’ve been working on because this is a clear picture of how bad it can go.”
“If you don’t have some different routines you can use outside of only taking the easy choice. Because I had been on sleeping tablets.
“I did for a season in Brondby. Only for away games. Only when I was in a hotel but yeah, that’s one of the things I’m really happy about, having left it behind. Happy that I’m not addicted to it now.
“Because I think once you finish with your career, it’s something you can struggle with, falling asleep.”
Friday (March 14) is World Sleep Day and rest and recovery are just asimportant for a world-class athlete as training, running or lifting weights.
Norgaard’s problems intensified when he was playing in his homeland, for Brondby between 2013-2018, due to an anxiety about a lack of sleep hindering his performance on the pitch.
It’s a topic that has maybe been going a bit under the radar. I think now it’s getting emphasised, not only in football but in general, how important it is.
Christian Norgaard
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “I really pretty remember when it (first) happened.
“It was before quite an important cup game in Denmark and that’s when the mind started going. I was at Brondby.
“I had a bad night’s sleep and I brought those thoughts into the game and I was like: ‘Ah, what if I don’t play well now because I’ve slept bad?’
“That became my thinking pattern for the next game. ‘Now I need to sleep good before the game otherwise I’ll be a disaster in the game’.
“Then it’s hard to fall asleep. So that’s why you have to break those patterns up.
“It’s a topic that has maybe been going a bit under the radar. I think now it’s getting emphasised, not only in football but in general, how important it is.
“I needed some routines. So I bring my own pillow to every away game.
“It can be like a hot shower before I go to bed, a cup of tea, these small things. Reading a book. A few bits that helped me quite a lot to unwind.
“That has been my problem, it has been overthinking stuff. I have felt it really hard to sleep.”