Research indicates that there is not “one best posture or one best sleeping position” when it comes to mattresses, Zadro says.
He adds that there is some low-quality evidence that firmer mattresses are better at preventing and relieving pain. Still, firm is not the same as “rock-hard” and, given we all sleep in different positions and have different preferences, individual comfort ultimately matters the most.
The effect of an uncomfortable mattress and, in turn, poor quality sleep can be the difference between an athlete achieving their Olympic dreams or going home tired and with a sore back, but without a medal.
From a “performance-enhancing” perspective, the best bed is the one that an athlete can actually sleep in.
“There is a lot of data to show that if you disrupt people’s sleep, or they’re getting poor sleep quality for a prolonged period of time, that can impact performance,” Zadro says.
When a performance difference of 1 per cent or less is what separates those who get medals from those who don’t, the power of good rest is significant.
“At the Olympic level, any sleep disturbance that affects performance would be important,” says Zadro. “Certain sports are more sensitive to sleep deprivation.”
The sports that seem most affected by poor-quality sleep are those requiring speed, tactical strategy or technical skill – which is most sports at the Olympics. Research suggests chronic poor sleep affects reaction times, perceived effort, speed, power, focus and the psychological wellbeing needed to perform at the highest level.
“Sleep is critical to maintaining optimal health [and] plays a key role in recovery,” says Professor Steve Milanese of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Tasmania. “And the mattress is a huge part of that … but the idea you can find one mattress to suit everybody doesn’t exist.”
With such high stakes and athletes looking down the barrel of three weeks of cardboard beds, many have opted for extra pillows and thick mattress toppers (which come packaged in plastic, presumably offsetting at least some of the beds’ environmental friendliness).
They already feel “so much better”, says Kearns on TikTok.
“I am so grateful. I was waking up every second hour. I actually thought about going on the floor … You’ll be expecting some gold medal performances from here on out from team Australia. Let’s go.”
Airweave was contacted for comment.
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