As part of a ground-breaking wellness programme, British UCI Women’s Continental Cycling Team, Drops Le Col, supported by premium mattress brand, TEMPUR®, conducted a sleep study with 12 of its riders, and the results can be read here.
Sleep has the power to impact our emotional, mental and physical health. So, it goes without saying that enjoying a good night’s sleep can be the difference between feeling great and struggling mentally and physically with the demands of the day. Many don’t realise that exercise, not only essential for overall health, fitness and wellbeing, is also crucial to achieving a healthy sleep routine.
Tobin James, sleep ergonomics expert for TEMPUR®, says, “We’ve all felt groggy, grumpy or less able to function well after a poor night’s sleep, but consistent lack of sleep has wide-ranging side effects, including poor memory and focus, changes to mood, increased irritability, more susceptibility to exercise-related fatigue and injuries, and even a weakened immune system.
“Sleep is about so much more than simply shutting our eyes when our head hits the pillow. Ensuring we’re sleeping in the correct environment, on a supportive mattress, and being mindful about the activities we enjoy in the hour prior to sleep is key.
“For professional athletes, the ability to enjoy a night of both good quality and quantity of sleep is even more vital. Promoting good sleep practices will, in turn, promote positive performance development, strength, endurance, recovery and cognitive function.”
As part of its ground-breaking wellness programme, British UCI Women’s Continental Cycling Team, Drops Le Col, supported by premium mattress company TEMPUR®, conducted a sleep study with 12 of its riders.
Drops Le Col has worked with TEMPUR to track the team’s sleep routines, highlighting the effects of sleep on both its athletes’ psychological and physiological condition whilst the team trains, recovers, and competes.
Each rider was provided with mattresses and pillows, which have been used both home and away, on team camps and at races. Riders’ sleep has been tracked consistently, either manually or using a fitness tracker with sleep monitoring capabilities.
After just one month, riders woke up 40% less during the night, fell asleep 34% faster, whilst the total amount of sleep increased by 18% and overall sleep satisfaction rose by 41%. Riders experienced both a 25% increase in comfort when sleeping on a TEMPUR® mattress and enjoyed a 24% increase in how rested they felt day-to-day, with rider’s sleep scores increasing by 28%.
Drops Le Col Co-founder and General Manager, Tom Varney, says: “Sleep is an integral part of the body’s recovery process, so it is vital for athletic performance. Being able to facilitate such a big change in both the quality and quantity of sleep of our riders, just by switching the sleep products they’re using, is no small feat.
“Lack of sleep can have such a profound effect on an athlete’s ability to perform at their best, so enjoying more sleep and feeling more rested and recuperated come morning is only going to benefit our riders in the short and longer terms.”
Tobin adds: “Whilst we’re not all professional athletes, achieving a healthy sleep routine to ensure we’re able to perform at our best both mentally and physically is crucial.”
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