Estonians secure the sleep of the world's cycling aces and racing stars.

Why do world champion Alejandro Valverde and other Movistar Team riders and players from the Scottish football club Glasgow Celtic put their heads on a smart pillow produced in Pärnu at night?

Top-level professional teams receive many requests for cooperation, but far from everyone is interviewed and only those with something truly special are accepted. Why did 49-time Scottish champion Glasgow Celtic, top cycling club Movistar Team and the Irish rugby team, which holds the third place in the world rankings, decide to start using SleepAngel sleeping equipment? What is a safe sleeping environment? And why is a pillow registered as a medical device?

Estonians adopted an Irish invention

The SleepAngel trademark belongs to Gabriel Scientific OÜ, whose partner and product development manager, Lyane Linnu, says that sports is a new and exciting direction for the company, but it all started with medicine.

“The problem we are solving is hospital infections,” Lind introduced the background and history of the invention. “Currently, cancer is the leading cause of death, but it is predicted that by 2050, hospital infections could be the leading cause of death. You go to the hospital for something fairly simple, like a knee operation, but you might end up with a bacteria that can no longer be treated with antibiotics. The problem is that the development of new antibiotics stopped in the 1980s, and due to their overuse, there are more and more resistant bacteria that we cannot fight.”

What happens in hospitals? It turns out that one very big risk factor is the pillows and other soft surfaces there, which are ideal hiding places for bacteria. "Irish researchers studied this. Hard surfaces can be easily disinfected and there is a specific protocol for this, which is carefully followed. Pillowcases are also washed and changed. But the pillow contents often go unwashed. If something gets in there through the fabric, bacteria can grow very successfully there and a person can get a disease from the pillow or mattress," explained Lind.

The smart Irish decided to make the pillow airtight, using a liquid-resistant fabric and fused all sides together, because the zippers and pinholes would let liquids and bacteria through. But if air cannot move in and out of the pillow, the headrest will not take the correct shape and will not be comfortable. To do this, a special nanoporous PneumaPure filter was installed on the pillow, which lets air through, but not dirt, dust mites, bacteria and viruses. The Irish brought production to Estonia, but in 2014 the Estonians obtained a production and sales license, and now Gabriel Scientific OÜ, owned by Estonian, Irish, Russian and Finnish companies, has acquired all patent rights. Currently, in addition to pillows, mattresses, blankets and many other soft things, such as mattresses for operating tables, are produced in Pärnu. Medical products are sold in 40 countries.

But how do Valverde and Glasgow Celtic come into play? It's simple, bacteria-free bedding is also very useful elsewhere. "We have been looking for a way to get the product to the end customer. It's very difficult to sell new technology through a home textile chain. People don't understand it when they see it on the shelf," said Lind.

Sleep has become an orphan in top sports

Another option is to start with those for whom performance is vital and who fear bacteria like the old pagan lightning – top athletes. Through such cooperation, it is hoped to reach the average consumer.

According to the rules of the Tour de France, you cannot choose your own hotel, but the organizer determines where you will sleep. Often, the place to stay may be a hostel instead.

The importance of recovery in sports is multiplied from morning to night, but while nutrition and fluid intake have truly been brought to a scientific level, the third major pillar of recovery, sleep, has so far received relatively little attention. “It has been left to the role of an orphan,” said Lind, who, in conversations with sports scientists at top clubs, has concluded that the sleeping environment has largely been categorized as “uncontrollable” factors.

Lind continued his thought process: "Athletes travel a lot. The same pillows are not only used in hospitals, but also in hotels you share bed linen. You never know who has used them before. Yes, the pillows are washed, but not the mattresses and the contents of the pillows. A Movistar representative said that, for example, according to the rules of the Tour de France, you cannot choose the hotel yourself, but the organizer determines where you sleep. Often the place to stay can be a hostel instead. Can you imagine top athletes sleeping in a hostel before very important races? This is where we come into play, we can offer them a safe sleeping environment. You have to take our things with you and that way you can sleep with your own clean and safe sleeping equipment every night. For example, the Irish rugby team plans to take our products with them to the World Cup in Japan this year."

Such a short, simple and clear sales pitch will make the ears of many a big club's decision-maker prick up. The company's international reach also makes things easier. The products have been well introduced by Irishman Scott Breddy, among other sports scientists, as well as Steven John Lardner, one of the initiators of the company's sports direction - the former works in the Celtic system, the latter was sold to Movistar.

It's easy to get started.

This is how the company, which received 141,000 euros in development support from EAS in the fall, not only got its foot in the door at major clubs, but has already walked out of several doors with a cooperation agreement. “It’s easy to get a conversation going, because others don’t have such technology. If you tell the club’s sports scientist what the risks are in hotels and what we offer, they immediately understand,” said Lind. He has visited the clubs himself, organized workshops and received direct feedback from the best in the field. “Some have thought about this topic before, for example, they have allergies, some even have their own pillow. Most people don’t think about it, and they sleep on exactly the same pillows that are in the hotel.”

It has now come to the point where this week all Movistar Team riders were sent customized pillows – one for use at home, the other for travel. A deal has also been signed with Glasgow Celtic, while the product is being tested by even more famous football giants and top players from other popular sports in the world.