After 28 years away from the World Cup, Scotland are back – and their first fixture kicks off at 2am. For fans hoping to watch the match against Haiti, the timing is, in the words of sleep scientist Prof Russell Foster from the University of Oxford, “perfectly designed to screw things up”.
Foster warns that even after the final whistle, sleep will not come easily. “You’re going to get so energised, it’ll be difficult to wind down,” he said. Scotland’s group stage continues with a 23:00 kick-off on a school night, compounding the fatigue.
“Scotland's first World Cup match in 28 years kicks off at 2am, forcing fans to devise drastic sleep strategies.”
So how can supporters survive? Dr Victoria Revell from the University of Surrey outlines three strategies. The most dedicated can adopt the “American” plan: shift to North American time for the tournament’s duration. “Put yourself on North American timing for the duration of the World Cup,” she says. It takes a few days to adapt, after which fans can watch every game – at the cost of “human contact”, which she says “would only be a distraction anyway”.
For those with commitments, the “sandwich” method involves sleeping before and after the match. That means going to bed early, setting an alarm for kick-off, then watching the game. The downside is possible grogginess, but Revell says adrenaline should take over – though fans “might struggle to then fall back asleep”.
Alternatively, the “squeeze” method lets viewers stay up all night and grab a couple of hours before work. It is simple, but Revell warns: “You’re going to cut your sleep very short and there are consequences the next day.”
For Scottish fans, the choice may come down to whether they are early risers or night owls. Either way, their team’s return to the world stage comes at a price – and it is measured in hours of lost sleep.