To say things feel tense globally right now would be quite an understatement, but nothing seems to unite people quite like sports—especially cheering on their country at the Olympic Games. Perhaps it’s fortuitous timing that the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics is running from February 6 to 22, where athletes from around the world will compete for a chance to land a spot on the podium.
It’s absolutely critical for athletes to get the highest-quality sleep to recover and perform at their best. After all, years of training are on the line for one opportunity to engrave their names in history books.
The problem is that creating an optimal sleep environment in an unfamiliar setting is always a risk—from time changes to contend with to a mattress that may be either too firm or too soft, or pillows you don’t take to. Plus, athletes are spread out across three main hotels in two cities, sharing rooms with teammates.
For athletes in the Olympic Village, their sleep space is an especially high-stakes situation. Airweave, the brand behind the infamous cardboard beds used in the Paris and Tokyo Olympic Games, is listed as an official supporter of Milano Cortina—we've reached out to several athletes to confirm whether they are indeed sleeping on these cardboard beds again in the Milano Cortina Olympic Village.
Saatva will be providing all mattresses for the LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games, but as a soft launch, it’s stepping forward to provide Team USA Winter Olympics athletes with 400 graphite memory foam toppers. In addition to the mattress topper, athletes on Team USA Hockey and USA Figure Skating have received a specially curated Winter Olympics sleep accessories bundle. If you’ve ever been curious about what it’s like for Olympic athletes in the athletes’ village in terms of accommodations, this is the next best thing. Especially if you’re like me and aren't attending the Games in person.
I’m a former D2 collegiate volleyball player, a certified sleep science coach, and a professional mattress tester. Here are my thoughts on each item, its best use case, and whether it’s worth using in your own home.
A Cooling Mattress Topper
Photograph: Julia Forbes Saatva Graphite Memory Foam Mattress Topper $295 Saatva
Mattress toppers add an extra layer to the top of your mattress, ultimately altering its firmness level to be softer or firmer for more support. I’d argue this is the most important part of the bundle for athletes, as everyone’s mattress preference varies greatly based on factors like sleeping position and build. A standard hotel mattress won’t provide that level of customization from athlete to athlete, but a mattress topper can help them get closer to it.