To complete at the Olympic level in Paris this year, athletes surely need a good night's rest — but that doesn't seem to be the case for some athletes sleeping on the viral cardboard beds in the Olympic village. The beds, which many have joked are "anti-sex" beds due to the materials used, have actually proven to be quite sturdy — almost too sturdy, it appears, as athletes have taken to social media to show how uncomfortable they apparently are. Australian water poloist Tilly Kearns posted a video to TikTok earlier this week that showed how rough her first night was in the bed.
"It's actually rock solid," she says in the clip, which has garnered more than 1.1 million likes. "You can flip them over apparently, there's a softer side, but — that was the soft side.
" "My back is about to fall off," her roommate chimes in. "Already had a massage to undo the damage," Kearns captioned the video. The bed frames, which are made of sturdy cardboard, made their debut at the Tokyo games in 2020 in an effort for sustainability.
The mattress, made by Airweave , consist of AirFiber and are meant to be "a luxury firm bed" with three customizable sections that allow athletes to choose the firmness level. Gymnast Simone Biles confirmed the bed "sucks" in the comment section of another TikTok . "But we are getting mattress toppers so hopefully it'll get better," Biles added.
Unfavorable conditions could impact an athlete's sleep, recovery and performance, Dr. Carlos M. Nunez, sleep expert .