Sleep habits that made Federer and Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Leo Messi, Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic. All are well-known sport stars.  Famous and cherished. In sports however, you have to fight every time you face an oponent, to remain on top. Whether it is football or tennis, it is a connection of body and mind, that makes or breaks an athlete, habits that help them shape who they become, among them the sleep habits. Moreover a strong mentality can help a person overcome temporary defeats, and a strong body influences the mind and physical appearance.

What we see by looking at them, is only a part of the story, a surface, a peak of their own internal mountain, they have been climbing all their live, in clouds and thunder storms. In good weather and in rain. By looking on the face of Cristiano Ronaldo, you see a sunny surface, that covers all the years spent on trail and error.

success habits

Become inspired, as if they can, you can too

Because of his struggles, and final achievements, there are plenty of things we can learn from him. Not to copy the man, but to see which areas they chose as important, and how they changed! Eventually, what results can you expect if you adopted just one health habit, for example some of their sleep habits, Ronaldo and Federer see as important in their lives?

• better sex
• more positive outlook on life
•  you will be able to focus with ease
• and building muscles will be easier, as it is one of the top ways to stay fit
• you will more likely avoid depression, and diabetes
• you will be more beautiful,

just to point out a few. More about it in the later part of the article.

Have strong foundation first, focus on the basics

In life, you can nearly walk with your eyes closed, if you have a solid mental foundation. Not the “how to live” suggestions, but the knowledge about what is truly important. Moreover, this knowledge helps you choose, make difficult decisions. They way you achieve what you want is unique, painted by you on white canvas of life, but the principles, the foundation, is common to all of us, and helps you choose in life. In this article, I will talk about one of these princliples, which is also seen by Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo, as the secret force behind all of their current successes.

Simple, understood, applied consistently, with belief. So simple, that ignored by many

Cholatse, Himalayas, personal greatness, rising from the clouds

You may often perceive the sport star’s level of achievement as an unreachable. Wealth, happiness, amazing level of technical ability, talent. But when you discover their way to success, their fights and mistakes, years of practice, struggles, small wins, poverty… and compare these things with what you see today: fame and happiness, you suddenly see regular human beings, who won their successes through hard work, and wise choices.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a sportsman we sometimes come back to on our blog, is such an example.

More about Cristiano : His sleep and health habits

An underdog who was determined

A boy growing up in a poor Portuguese family, who from an early age tries to be the best at what he does, arrives before the practice starts, stays later than anyone. Romelu Lukaku, a belgian footballer, seen as one of the best football players of 2018 Russian Mundial, comes from a very poor family, and spends his childhood and early life in Belgium, where his family moved from Africa. What’s more, for months he eats only bread with milk, sometimes milk is replaced with water, as his parents have not enough money to buy milk.

bread and milk

Learn from the best, who started from nothing

He would sit with his family on the floor and dream about the better future. They had no other choice, but to change and grow. Finally, to try to be better and know that it is possible. If somebody else did it, you can do it too… Romelu, Cristiano, achieved the worldly success. But it is not just determination and work that brought the results. It is also about knowing what and how to do the important things. If you are going to learn, learn from the best. However, learn from them when they were poor and working on themselves, instead of looking at them for inspiration when they are the worldly idols. Discover what they were doing when they were building their spirits, fighting inner demons, crafting their sleep habits, eating habits and examine ways of  thinking.

There is no a quick fix

For Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, there is one activity, they often associate with the great results they achieve. It is not a secret special way of holding a tennis racket, or kicking the ball. They are important, but …

But there is something else.

Roger Federer asked in 2015 about his work ethic, said that it is all about sleep habits! Cristiano hired a sleep coach, Nick Littlehales. Federer said: “Sleeping has become quite important. I make sure I sleep enough,[…] I believe it’s really the sleep that gives you energy again down the road. That’s why the next two days are very important for me in terms of sleeping.” How many hours does he sleep to wake up feeling refreshed?

sleep therapy

“In terms of sleeping? Hopefully nine to 10 (hours),” he said.

Cristiano on the other hand,

• takes five 90-minute sleeps a day, and
• chooses a thin and hard mattress, on which he sleeps in the foetal position.
• He also changes the sheets he sleeps on, every night.
• Ronaldo shuts down all electrical devices, like computers, phones, tv, 90 minutes before falling asleep. It is especially important, as the researchers discovered, the blue light emitted by the screens, keep your brain alert, and suppresses sleep hormone melatonin.

Everything is possible at all times

You see, Ronaldo is a perfectionist. He tries to use his body and mind, and stay healthy and strong, but does it in a way that is uniquely designed for him. Cristiano would not copy a method just because it is successful for somebody else. Additionally, the footballer would like to know and understand why it works, and whether it would work for him.

Would his sleep habits work for you? You would not know if you did not try. Try! I know, that the system which works for me, is simpler. To take a nap during the day, and have at least 7 hours of sleep. I also like to fall asleep around 11 pm. How do you sleep? Are you a morning or evening person? Is it connected to the way you sleep, what do you think? if you are fascinated by sleep, read our thorough article that covers many aspects of it :”sleep hygiene“.

The hardness of the mattress matters

Sleep is trully esential. We pointed out a few results of good sleep hygene, at the beginning of the article. What else happens, if you have a good night’s sleep on a hard surface mattress, like for example on our customer-favourite Organic Buckwheat hulls mattress? Moreover, as with everything, the surface of the mattress needs also to be exactly as it fits you! It is important, that it is closely connected to the structure of your body and muscles, fat tissues.

• if you like to talk, you will be a better speaker after a restfull night!
• you will see better
• you will lower your heart attack risk level
• you will have a stronger immune system

Read more about the healing power of hard surface mattress here: healthy spine. The great achievers enjoy the beauty of life. Their success may look distant to you, but you never know how great you can be, until you try to change how you live and what you think about yourself. Shifting one tiny bit a time, gives you an impression of the power the simple actions, taken consistently have. Federer, Ronaldo point out to sleep as their greatest allay, what about you?

We were inspired by

Eurosport