Professional soccer players are opening up about how seemingly harmless sleeping pills turned their lives upside down. The New York Times compiles accounts from numerous players who began using easily-accessible sleeping pills to relax after intense games or painful injuries, only to end up hooked. Crewe Alexandra striker Omar Bogle says there was a stretch last year when he barely recognized his own life. It took mere weeks for the 31-year-old to become dependent on sleeping pills and painkillers after fracturing his back in 2024. By early 2025, Bogle says he was secretly swallowing "18 or 19" pills per night, often blacking out and waking with no memory of conversations he'd had.
The impact, he says, was brutal: constant sedation, strained family relationships, increased drinking and partying, repeated injuries, and a sharp decline on the pitch. Bogle's account adds to a growing list of professionals detailing similar struggles. Ex-Manchester United player Darron Gibson has spoken of taking up to 14 sleeping pills a night; Former England midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has described becoming reliant on the pills while playing in Turkey; Arsenal's Christian Norgaard and former Spurs midfielder Dele Alli have both said they used the drugs to cope with stress, trauma, or to chase what they believed was better pre-match sleep.
Specialists who work with clubs say the combination of relentless schedules, late-night matches, injuries, and travel leaves some players seeking a quick fix. But they warn that sleeping pills can be addictive, impair recovery, increase injury risk and, crucially, do not provide the deep, restorative sleep athletes truly need. "They are your friend until they're not your friend anymore," says Bogle, who ended up completing a stint in rehab. He joins with experts in warning that one major problem is accessibility. The pills are legal (not prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency) and, according to one sleep expert, "being handed out like candy." Read the full story.
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