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Experienced cyclist Romy Kasper is already in her 14th professional season. As a child, Romy was extremely athletic, attended a sports school, and moved directly from junior to women’s level and straight into the pro team. Her most recent competition was at the European Championships in Munich. This year, she also proved her skills in the famous Tour de France alongside her successful team “Jumbo Visma” in the women’s race.
As a top athlete, Romy has to travel a lot for her races. Within Europe but also to Australia, China, or South America. The different time zones and jet lag are a challenge. That’s why Third of Life designed a sleep coaching program for Romy back in 2017 to help her optimally adjust to the time zones and the corresponding time differences.
We learned about Romy’s life as a professional athlete and the importance of sleep for her in an exciting interview.
Romy, how can we imagine a typical day in your life?
Romy: When I’m at home and just training, my usual daily routine is basically: get up and after breakfast, get straight on the bike or go to training. Depending on how long my training is, whether it’s twice a day or if there’s strength training in the evening, the rest of the day is mostly reserved for recovery or studying for my degree. If it’s not too stressful, I also fit in time with friends. I usually go to bed around 10:00 PM or just before to wind down a bit. Sometimes I read, sometimes I listen to an audiobook, depending on how the day went and what thoughts I still have in my head to be able to switch off.
What does sleep mean to you?
Romy: Sleep is regeneration or serves regeneration. So besides training and strain, it’s basically the second building block that leads to performance. So if I can train hard but can’t recover, it means that in the next training or race I won’t be able to perform at my best. That’s why I would put sleep recovery right after training in second place. Of course, eating, drinking, nutrition, and such always belong as well. But as I said, if I don’t have recovery, I can’t push myself fully next time and can’t deliver my performance.
Is it difficult for you to get restful sleep?
Romy: Well, there are definitely days when it’s really hard for me. What I’ve noticed a bit is that when I have double training sessions and I’m still in the gym in the evening, it’s relatively hard for me to “wind down” and fall asleep.
Besides sleep coaching, I have also been using the Re-Charge travel pillow from Third of Life for a few years now. It’s always super helpful when traveling: When I know I have my own pillow with me and always the same pillow, it makes a huge difference. I just notice how my head or neck gets used to the pillow and its height, and I sleep very differently. I already noticed at the beginning that I feel fit in the morning when I get up and don’t have neck pain or still feel half dead. Instead, I wake up and just feel fit.
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How do you deal with the challenges and mental pressure during your competitions?
Romy: During competitions, I still manage to go to bed around 10:00 PM. The mental pressure is like this: In stage races, we have the meeting right after the stage, usually on the way to the hotel, so we can basically close the day. And the race meeting for the next day usually happens on the way to the start, so to the stage. This way, I don’t have thoughts in the evening like: Okay, what do I have to do tomorrow, what does the next day look like? And that really helps a lot so that I don’t have those thoughts in my head when going to sleep or in the evening. A walk after dinner also always helps me a lot to switch off or calm down.
What tips can you give to the readers of our articles who might also have trouble falling asleep due to stress at work or generally sleeping poorly while traveling?
Romy: My first tip is definitely the travel pillow. So you always sleep on the same pillow. Even if the sleeping environment is different, that already makes a huge difference. And what has always helped me is either reading a book or, if you’re too tired, just listening to an audiobook to really get your mind off things. I also find it helpful to use the phone less or put it away completely for a while before going to sleep. A sleep routine or a regular daily schedule. When do I go to bed, when do I get up? These are definitely great building blocks, and I’d say that’s a great start.
You also have the AERO summer duvet from us, right?
Romy Yes, I have to say, I’ve had the AERO summer duvet for exactly one week and I’m sleeping really well with it. I haven’t woken up once because it was too hot. So it’s really great, especially now that it’s so hot here.
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What’s next for you? What goals do you have?
Romy This year, there’s still a tour planned to Sweden and Norway. In September – which is the end of the year for us – there’s a World Championship in Australia, where the time adjustment will of course come into play again. And for the coming years… we’ll see. At the moment, I don’t see any reason to stop.
Great, Romy! Thank you very much for all the insights.
All the best and continued success.
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Third of Life at the "Better Sleep" Fair