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Bournemouth introduce orange glasses to help players sleep better

Bournemouth players have each been given a pair of orange glasses by the club to wear before they go to bed in order to improve their sleep.

The Premier League club have introduced "SleepSpec" glasses to their squad, which help to reduce blue light emitted from mobile phones, tablets and TVs.

Bournemouth's head of sports medicine Dr Craig Roberts says the new equipment will prove to be a "game changer" for the side and the benefits will soon be seen out on the pitch.

"Many of our players spend long hours in hotel rooms and often watch television or play computer games," Roberts is quoted as saying by The Sun. "The consequence of this are that they then struggle to get to sleep once they go to bed, which subsequently affects their performance on the pitch.

"Sleep is when the body repairs itself. If a player does not get enough sleep, they will not perform to their optimum level. We believe that getting the players to use 'SleepSpec' will allow them to have their down time -- without the negative consequences.

"Sleep is being increasingly recognised as a game changer for sportsmen -- both on the field, and in terms of recovery."

The blue light emitted from mobile phones, tablets and TVs suppresses production of the sleep hormone melatonin.

As well as filtering out the blue light, "SleepSpec" glasses also aid natural production of melatonin.

"Artificial light means that the brain struggles to distinguish the change from day to night and melatonin production is suppressed, so our bodies are unable to move effectively into sleep mode," Roberts said.

"One simply has to wear the 'SleepSpec' for a minimum of two hours before wanting to go to sleep. This allows for sufficient melatonin production to take place. Provided the room is completely dark and there are no sources of blue light the body's natural sleep pattern will take place."