When we think about elite athletes, we picture gruelling workouts, perfectly calibrated nutrition plans and hours spent refining every movement on the court. But according to three of Canada’s biggest basketball stars, the real secret weapon isn’t another training session—it’s getting enough sleep.
As women’s basketball continues its meteoric rise in Canada—with the inaugural Toronto Tempo broadcast drawing one million viewers—the conversation around athletic performance is evolving, too. Increasingly, recovery is being recognized as training in its own right. And as the WNBA’s Official Sleep Partner in Canada, Endy is helping shine a spotlight on an often-overlooked truth: sleep isn’t time off—it’s time put in.
For Canadian WNBA standouts Kia Nurse, Laeticia Amihere and Aaliyah Edwards, quality sleep isn’t an indulgence reserved for the off-season. It’s as essential as strength training, nutrition and practice.
Recovery Is Part of the Game
For Nurse, the lesson came through injury.
“Sleep and rest impacts everything, not just physical recovery,” she tells VITA. “I learnt through my knee injuries that the better I recovered, the better I performed. Having a comfortable sleep environment and having my down time to unwind is just as important as anything I do in training.”
Amihere’s appreciation for sleep began much earlier.
“Growing up my parents always gave us a strict 9 p.m. bedtime, so I have been accustomed to getting my quality sleep,” she says. “Sometimes you have to prioritize putting your phone down to be able to give your body exactly what it needs to perform at the highest level.”
For Edwards, the connection between rest and performance couldn’t be clearer.
“Sleep affects your energy, focus, resilience and recovery between games,” she says. “It’s the most powerful performance tool available to us.”
Small Rituals, Big Results
Professional basketball players spend much of the season travelling, crossing time zones and adapting to unpredictable schedules. While they can’t control flight delays or late-night arrivals, they can control how they prepare their bodies for recovery.
“Consistency is probably the biggest thing,” says Nurse. “As athletes there are a lot of things we can’t control, but creating a consistent recovery routine is something we can.”
Amihere’s nightly routine is refreshingly simple.
“My non-negotiables are fueling my body, hydrating, stretching and getting quality sleep,” she says. “When it starts getting late I like to put my phone on Do Not Disturb. It allows me to do my devotionals and slow my brain down for the night so that I can optimize my recovery.”
For Edwards, coming home after weeks on the road has become its own recovery ritual.
“My Endy mattress is literally a recharger,” she says. “It’s so supportive, especially coming back after long days away. It’s the best feeling to come home to after staying in hotels.”
The End of Hustle Culture?
For years, elite sport celebrated grinding harder, sleeping less and pushing through exhaustion. These athletes believe that mindset is finally changing.
“Recovery is a competitive advantage,” says Nurse. “The conversation used to only focus on training, but now… we see a lot more from athletes than just their gym routines. It’s such an important conversation to be had, even beyond sports.”
Amihere knows firsthand what happens when recovery is ignored.
“I was stuck on that hustle mentality at an early age and it led to me getting injured repeatedly,” she says. “Since then I’ve decided that pushing hard and putting in that work can look different. It doesn’t always mean on the court but sometimes during recovery, and how I treat my body.”
Edwards agrees that attitudes are shifting.
“I think people are starting to realize that pushing through exhaustion isn’t always the answer. It can lead to burnout,” she says. “I hope we help normalize the idea that rest is productive, and getting the extra two hours really does make that difference.”
What We Can All Learn From Elite Athletes
You don’t have to be preparing for a WNBA game to benefit from better recovery habits.
Nurse’s advice is simple: “Prioritize sleep. Everyone’s daily routine looks different, but sleep is something we all have in common. Quality rest supports better focus, performance, and you genuinely can feel a difference when you improve your sleeping habits.”
Amihere believes consistency matters just as much.
“I think one habit that I would recommend to everyone is creating a routine,” she says. “We don’t always know what our body needs unless we listen to it.”
And Edwards hopes people recognize that recovery isn’t just for professional athletes.
“You don’t need to be a professional athlete to benefit from better sleeping habits,” she says. “Rest and recovery is critical to whatever you’re doing—preparing for a game, your 9-to-5, or a busy day with your family.”
As Canadians embrace a new era of women’s basketball, perhaps the biggest takeaway isn’t about how the pros train—it’s about how they recover. Behind every buzzer-beater, highlight reel and championship run is something surprisingly ordinary: a good night’s sleep. And if Canada’s top athletes are treating rest as one of their most valuable performance tools, maybe it’s time the rest of us did, too. —Noa Nichol
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