DREAM GAINS

Sleep your way to top condition with our edit of lab-tested mattresses

The link between sleep and performance still tends to be slept on. In a world of looming deadlines, hectic home workout routines and late-night socialmedia scrolling sprees, it’s hard to prioritise a good night’s rest. Yet, in a study published in Med Hypotheses, researchers found those who slept for 8.5 hours per night gained 40% more muscle mass over the course of the trial, while those who slept for 5.5 hours lost mass. Add to this a Sports Medicine review that found that poor sleepers were more likely to cut workouts short or even skip training entirely, and it’s hard to close your eyes on the potential for poor sleep to seriously compromise your gym goals.

The bad news is that an earlier bedtime isn’t enough. Sleep quality is just as important as quantity, and that mattress you’ve been meaning to replace for years may be slowing you down. Which is where our testers come in. Fresh from days of tough workouts, we upgraded their recovery with the best mattresses on the market and tasked them with reviewing their sleep quality. We present our pick of the best to provide you with a restful performance boost so easy that you can do it with your eyes closed. Call it “tired and tested”, if you like.