Team GB’s sleep guru wants Olympians to guard against the pitfalls of wearable tech.
Sleeping has been identified by experts at Great Britain’s Olympic team as their next key battleground at the Paris Games, which open on July 26. Wearable tech - that produces a myriad of data cataloguing the quality and nature of our sleep - is all the rage but Dr Luke Gupta, sleep scientist for UK Institute of Sport and the Lionesses, is urging his athletes to exercise caution.
“The ability to track is a good thing and it’s the first time that we’ve actually been able to visualise our sleep,” said Gupta. “We can use it in a way to coach ourselves through and know when we need to overcompensate for bad sleep.
“But there are bad things. Sleep is more than just a number, it’s a multi-dimensional, holistic experience which goes beyond the numbers. The danger of this technology is that we lose the ability to reflect on how we slept and it creates stress because the algorithms are based on an ideal.
“You can feel you’ve slept quite well but you’ve got this thing telling you how you feel, ‘am I in the red or green today?’ You have to be mentally strong enough to know that and not get caught up in it, or I think it’s going to get quite messy.”
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In an Olympic Village full of distractions, good sleep can be hard to come by.
Thanks to Dreams Beds, Paris Olympians will be able to drift into the land of nod in eight futuristic sleep pods housed at Team GB’s Performance Lodge.
“Sleep is a pillar of athlete health, wellbeing and performance,” said Gupta. “It is important athletes have the capability, and opportunity, to manage their sleep when put under strain at an Olympic Games. We know that taking a short nap can significantly boost alertness and have a positive impact on mental and physical performance.”
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The prospect of naps on tap has already been a hit with Team GB athletes.
Olympic silver medal-winning weightlifter Emily Campbell said: “I’m someone that’s quite extroverted in public, but it’s so important to me to have space and time to decompress around training, particularly in the lead up to an Olympic Games.
“Sleep is so important to my recovery, so it’s massively reassuring to know that Dreams is supporting me to be able to get the sleep I need to perform at my best in Paris.”
Greg Retter, Team GB’s Head of Performance Services, insists that the era of marginal gains is still alive and wellTeam GB’s target for Paris 2024 is to finish in the top five of the medal table, which they have done at the last four Olympics. They also want to beat hosts France to the title of top European nation.
Sir Dave Brailsford is now busy with his new role at Manchester United but Team GB’s Head of Performance Services, Greg Retter, insists that the era of marginal gains is still alive and well.
“We take a no stone unturned approach to delivering performance,” said Retter. “Every sport spends a lot of time and energy looking at how we can get an advantage. Sometimes we’re talking about tiny margins. Look at cycling and the amount of detail that goes into the bikes, the suits, the helmets, the glasses, even the socks. Everything is considered.
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“We need to do the fundamentals right, be rigorous and make sure the delivery is absolutely spot on so the athletes have the best opportunity to excel.”
Official Sleep Partner, Dreams, is supporting Team GB with investment in sleep for athletes in Paris.
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