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- Tom Brady reportedly can’t sleep after he makes mistakes in games.
- According to ESPN, Brady used to have trouble sleeping after losing Super Bowls, and it has gotten worse over the years.
- Brady is both highly competitive and obsessive over correcting any perceivable flaw.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
One of Tom Brady’s driving motivations to keep playing football at an age when others retire is to improve every perceivable flaw.
Even with the “G.O.A.T” title secured, Brady still sets out each offseason to tweak his game and improve in areas to allow himself to keep playing and chasing Super Bowls.
That drive can occasionally have a poor effect on the rest of his life.
According to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, Brady used to have trouble sleeping after Super Bowl losses. He then had trouble sleeping after any loss. He now has trouble sleeping if he makes a mistake in a game.
“Now a mistake – any mistake, in an inherently random game – keeps him awake,” Wickersham wrote.
Wickersham repeated the same point on the "ESPN Daily" podcast on Wednesday.
For Brady to lose sleep over, say, an interception or over-throw is no small deal.
Brady values recovery over all else, and sleep is a big part of that. He reportedly goes to sleep at approximately 8-9 P.M. and does brain exercises to help him wake up without an alarm. He even has special recovery pajamas to wear while sleeping.
Still, Brady is highly competitive and obsessed with correcting flaws - he reportedly won't sign photos of himself if his form looks bad.
Unfortunately for Brady, it may have been a rough season. He threw 12 interceptions this season, his most since 2011, and at times struggled in Bruce Arians' deep-ball-oriented offense. Brady has also thrown five interceptions in two postseason games, very nearly handing the Green Bay Packers the NFC Championship.
Brady revealed to reporters this week that his wife and kids left their house to leave him alone to prepare for the Super Bowl. With 12 days alone, he'll have had time to catch up on sleep and devour as much film as he can to play flawlessly against the Chiefs.