Power Nap

This is the kind of story that will make you want to stretch. After reading it, you'll want to go over to the couch, put your head on a pillow, stretch out and catch 40 winks.

Sorry, you can't do that. You probably don't have the time, and your spouse will get mad at you.

But if you're in the NHL, that's quite another story.

As if it isn't enough they are paid millions of dollars to play a game, have fans screaming their names and stay in the best hotels in the best parts of the best cities, NHLers have another perk in their life: the afternoon power nap.

It's a hockey tradition, probably as old as the game itself.

"It's not a matter of `Will I?' It's a matter of `How long?'" says Maple Leafs centre Travis Green. "It's just something we do.

"I guarantee we all look forward to it. It's great. Even when I get home in the summer I tell my wife I've got to shut it down in the afternoon. We're like robots."

NHLers are creatures of habit. Whether you're a rookie like John Pohl or a hall of famer like Dick Duff, the nap is part of life.

"The season can be long, it can be tiring," Duff said. "It keeps everybody focused on a target. What's normal for you is not normal for anybody else, playing Saturday and Sunday and at night when everybody else is off."

It's not always easy, especially when roommates are involved. There can be snorers, guys who like quiet while other guys like the TV on. Or, you could be rooming with a somnambulist.

"Todd Gill was a sleepwalker," Steve (Stumpy) Thomas says of his former Leaf roommate.

"We were sleeping one time, he woke up all startled and came over to me and he was shaking me. He says: `Stump, are you okay? Are you okay?' I wake up and I'm like, `I'm fine.' He goes: `Holy cow... I thought I ran you over in my golf cart.'"

Research out of Greece suggests what NHLers have always known: the midday nap is good for you.

The study, published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that siestas reduced the risk of death from heart disease by about a third among men and women.

Researchers believe getting more sleep generally supports a healthier lifestyle in terms of diet and exercise, and the positive effect of taking a break reduces stress, thus reducing levels of stress hormones in the bloodstream that are known to be tough on the heart.

For NHLers, it's simple common sense.

"I've always napped," says Pohl. "What else are you going to do? Your whole life is hockey and sleep, there's no time for anything else."