{"id":13017,"date":"2017-12-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/uncategorized\/ex-afl-star-says-plenty-of-athletes-are-popping-these-pills\/"},"modified":"2017-12-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T00:00:00","slug":"ex-afl-star-says-plenty-of-athletes-are-popping-these-pills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/sport\/ex-afl-star-says-plenty-of-athletes-are-popping-these-pills\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-AFL Star Says Plenty Of Athletes Are Popping These Pills"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steve Smith\u2019s admission he took sleeping tablets during the second test has been widely reported in the media, but it\u2019s no big deal, says former AFL star Nick Dal Santo.<\/h3>\n

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\u201cI took sleeping tablets for the last 10 years and particularly after a night game,\u201d Nick told SEN on Thursday.<\/h3>\n

\u201cI never abused it, never didn\u2019t anything silly, but I also felt that I needed to take them as a way to go to sleep — as a circuit breaker.<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019ve been to a concert. You\u2019re laying there and you can just hear the noise and your reliving the moments of the game — the mistakes, the things that you did really well.<\/h3>\n

\u201cI used to take sleeping tablets as a way to physically go to sleep, but I also felt that was the way that I recovered. I was able to sleep for 7-8 hours — which if I didn\u2019t take I wouldn\u2019t be getting — because you\u2019ve got to get up the next morning and do your recovery down at the ocean or at the football club.\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Australian skipper @stevesmith49<\/a> raised a few eyebrows with his sleeping pill admission, but it's quite common, says former AFL star @NickDalSanto<\/a> | https:\/\/t.co\/NvUT4o7sGm<\/a> | #SENAfternoons<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/y7DCPHbp7s<\/a><\/p>— 1116 SEN Footy (@SENfooty) December 7, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote> \n