(1) Footballers, as of recent, have begun truly understanding the importance of a good night’s sleep. The change began over twenty years back, in the 1990s, when a mattress salesman, contacted the manager of the Manchester United football team, Alex Ferguson, asking whether he had ever considered how sleep affected performance on the pitch. Interested, Ferguson, arranged for the salesman to give a presentation to his team. Before long, the whole team had new mattresses and pillows, and that salesman soon became football’s leading mattress advisor. In 1998, he supplied mattresses for England’s World Cup team, and at the 2004 Euros, he created individual sleep routines for every player. (2) Now, many teams and players are making an effort to improve their sleep habits, using varied means. Manchester City player Sergio Aguero, for example, was finding it hard to sleep because his muscular body prevented his legs from closing when he lay on his side. He got a new mattress which matched his height and weight, thus keeping his neck and back straight in the night. Meanwhile, James Milner from Manchester City found it hard to sleep after evening games, so he would play computer games into the early hours. As a result, he was too tired to train the following morning. Setting a routine with a late bedtime, early rise and afternoon nap helped to fix this problem. What is one key factor that improves the performance of footballers?
What is one way special mattresses can help players?