Sweden rest easy for Ireland clash after request for specially made beds

Sweden’s national team are leaving nothing to chance when it comes to their efforts in getting out of Group E in the European Championship this summer.

The general manager, Lasse Richt, has organised for specially made beds to be shipped over from Sweden to the team’s hotel Chateau des Torelles in the resort of Pornichet, about 70km west of Nantes.

“It may sound drastic, but it is something we thought about carefully,” Richt told Swedish paper Expressen.

“Research findings have shown that sleep is very important for performance. It is not enough just to work out and eat right. It is equally important to have good sleep. If our initiative can help our players be more rested and increase their job satisfaction then it’s worth it.

“We also believe that the beds can give us a certain psychological advantage when it comes to our ability to perform.

“And so we believe that the new beds will contribute to success in the Euros.”

The beds have been developed in Sweden by Youbed, which claims to be the first in the world to offer a customisable option in which the sleeper decides how firm or soft to make his mattress.

“It is flattering to be chosen to contribute to the team’s success at the Euros,” said Youbed chief executive Mattias Sorensen, who was pictured lying awkwardly on one of his beds with Richt in the Swedish press this week.

More and more teams now pay attention to the importance of sleep. Experts claim it can affect performance, energy, mental focus, recovery, motivation level, decision-making, and concentration.

It is an important part of the recovery process, and players often bring their own orthopaedic mattress and pillow for away games — so no matter what hotel they may be sleeping in, it will feel like they are in their own bed.

Other factors in sleep preparation for optimum recovery include room temperature and décor (16C-18C, and white walls and bedsheets are recommended), duvet weight (light, not heavy), and position (foetal, on non-dominant side).

Reducing artificial light — and electronic products — by the bed is also recommended.

Whether the beds help Sweden get past Belgium, Italy, and Ireland remains to be seen. With Ireland their first opponents, Martin O’Neill will be hoping to give Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his team-mates nightmares after the opener on June 13.