Shohei Ohtani has valued sleep since childhood.

He has even described himself as someone who is “good at sleeping.”

That commitment to recovery continued throughout his professional career.

During his first offseason with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Ohtani pitched well in the Phoenix League held in Miyazaki. However, he struggled to shake off feelings of fatigue afterward.

When he consulted a nutritionist from the Nippon-Ham organization, he received advice that changed his approach to recovery:

Rather than keeping bedtime consistent, it is more important to keep wake-up time consistent.

From then on, Ohtani tried to wake up at regular times whenever possible.

Even in Japan, maintaining a perfect sleep schedule can be difficult because of travel and game schedules. But Major League Baseball presents an even harsher challenge.

In Japan, teams usually play at most six consecutive games.

In MLB, stretches of nearly twenty straight games are not uncommon — often involving long road trips across multiple cities and time zones.

Under those conditions, maintaining proper sleep and recovery becomes extremely difficult.

So how does Ohtani handle it?

His answer reflects the same level of discipline he brings to baseball itself:

“The most important thing is sleep. You have to prepare several days in advance and plan carefully around when you’re going to sleep.”

For Ohtani, sleep is not simply rest.

It is preparation.

If good sleep leads to better performance, then sleep itself must be approached strategically and intentionally.

This philosophy reveals something essential about him:

Even recovery is treated as part of competition.

Source

This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.

Chasing Shohei Ohtani: A Beat Reporter’s 10-Year Soulful Notes, p.417