Drew Brees may have stepped off the field, but he’s still in the game when it comes to wellness.
While no longer throwing touchdowns, the former Saints quarterback has managed to stay busy, tagging in as an NFL game analyst for Fox Sports and being inducted into the Hall of Fame while spending quality time with his family.
The NFL legend also manages to prioritize his health, sharing one popular biohacking ritual he turns to for better sleep and improved focus.
To get a good night’s sleep and think more clearly, the 47-year-old father of four turns to contrast therapy, or the practice of sweating it out in a sauna before taking a dip in a cold plunge tub.
“I’m a huge sauna, cold plunge advocate and fan,” Brees told The Post. “Bottom line is I feel great. I sleep better. I think clear, so I think there’s a lot of benefits to it.”
And science agrees that the ancient art of alternating between hot and cold yields plenty of health benefits.
“Contrast therapy is far from new — it has been practiced for centuries,” Dr. Hany Demian, CEO of BioSpine and co-founder of Pain Care Clinics, previously told the Post.
While practiced for centuries, the practice is currently one of the buzziest trends in wellness right now.
Anecdotal evidence and peer-reviewed research both suggest contrast therapy has several benefits, including:
“Heat therapy (e.g., sauna, warm baths) is known to reduce stress hormones like cortisol. Cold exposure (e.g., cold showers) may activate the parasympathetic nervous system afterward, aiding relaxation,” Demian added.
Exposure to heat before bed may also help lower core body temperature, which has been linked to improved sleep.
In addition to contrast therapy, Brees stays on top of his health by staying active, despite retiring from professional football back in 2021.
While heavy lower body workouts are still a top focus, he’s also incorporated more cross training, albeit in the form of activities outside the gym.
“I love to jump in the water and swim or surf, hike, ride mountain bikes,” he said. “You name it, just anything that’s active and competitive. The more you can move, the better.”
And diet is just as important. As he considers himself a “common sense dieter,” he also emphasized the importance of focusing on eating whole foods most of the time.
“The more you eat what’s out of the ground, and not coming in a package, the better,” he added.
But maintaining his health also means staying on top of his severe allergies to peanuts and eggs, which he discovered after getting tested during his first few years in the league.
To better manage allergic reactions, not only does he track what he eats, he’s also teamed up with neffy, the first FDA-approved epinephrine nasal spray, for a needle-free alternative for the millions of people dealing with allergies on a daily basis.
“I dealt with severe allergies throughout my career and just this heightened level of awareness around what I was consuming, what I was exposed to and then just wanting to be prepared,” Brees explained.
“I think this whole conversation is just around helping to educate people, raising awareness and also just a level of preparedness,” he added.
