Itis always said that recovery is the very part of a training plan, that it is indeed one of its most important components for an athlete’s performance, whatever his or her level. However, it is often understood only as
not engaging in sporting activity
, leaving out the qualitative aspects of recovery and, especially, the quintessential recovery: sleep.
Thanks to the partnership with Dorelan who accompanied six athletes to the Bologna and Florence Marathons in recent months, we were able to ask a few questions to those who know a thing or two about sleep, and who have also been involved for years in optimizing the rest of athletes, both international and amateur: Ruben Tullio, Partnership Manager at Dorelan.
Dorelan has for years now been a benchmark for those looking for a mattress to rest comfortably and especially for athletes. Your partnership with Firenze Marathon is a fine example of continuity And it continued even during the pandemic. What connects you so much to this beautiful city and this race?
ReActive® is the first mattress line scientifically designed to improve the performance and recovery of athletes. It all stems from the realization that sleep is one of the fundamentals of athlete performance. Indeed, it has been observed that athletes, particularly those who perform high volumes of weekly training-especially in endurance sports-have, on average, poor sleep quality and quantity. This explains our choice to join the world of running and especially marathons and among the Italian ones we immediately had a very good feeling with the Firenze Marathon team and with Fulvio Massini , technical director of the event. This partnership allowed us to gain great visibility and credibility right away. Over the years, in addition to a professional collaboration, a beautiful friendship has also developed, and despite the pandemic we have decided to continue planning and investing in this event. In fact, for this 37th edition of the Florence Marathon we were able, with RunLovers and also involving the organizers of the Bologna Marathon, to accompany six amateurs in preparing for and participating in these two events. An 8-month journey that brought us so much satisfaction. We had an insight that we were all able to realize together, doing something innovative that allowed us to stand out among companies in our industry. With a hint of vanity, we can say we were the first, and we are proud to have paved a path that other brands are also following.
In recent months we have had the opportunity to use and test your products, for which you have asked all athletes to fill out a sleep diary. How much does the scientific aspect affect the design of your products?
The realization that sleep is one of the fundamentals of athlete performance is now widespread in both sports (professional and amateur) and scientific research. We sleep for almost a third of our lives, so understanding how we sleep is of utmost importance to highlight how our physique and psyche adapt to all our activities. The relevant scientific literature has always dwelt on the relationship between performance and sleep deprivation. Our approach wanted to go out and investigate and highlight what might have been the existing relationships between sleep and performance by improving the former of the two factors: from this bet was born
ReActive
. This product line dedicated to the world of sports is the result of a study conducted by.
Dorelan ReSearch
, an autonomous and independent scientific committee composed of physicians, university researchers and athletic trainers who provide their knowledge every day to promote the culture of sleep. The Scientific Committee is chaired by Antonio La Torre, Fidal Technical Director and Associate Professor at the University of Milan; Jacopo Vitale, Director of Movement Laboratory and Sport Sciences at IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi in Milan expert in chronobiology; Francesca Vitali, sports psychologist and lecturer at the University of Verona; Claudio Vicini, otolaryngologist specializing in sleep disorders as well as Associate Professor at the Universities of Ferrara and Bologna; and Carlo Castagna, head of the ‘Training Methodology Laboratory’ of the FIGC Technical Sector and among the researchers in the world rankings with the most scientific articles on soccer. A team of excellence. Suffice it to say that this year Jacopo collaborated with FIDAL on a project to study the sleep and biological rhythms of some of the athletes who successfully participated in the Tokyo Olympics: Palmisano, Stano and Tamberi (gold in women’s march, men’s march and high jump, respectively, ed.).
So it is not only a matter of using quality materials, it is also important to know how they should be mixed and blended. Some kind of alchemy, a secret mix?
ReActive certainly stands for technological innovation but more importantly for technology dedicated to a well-identified cluster of consumers with very specific characteristics. An example to clarify this concept: take, for example, the choice to use Dry-Action fabric and not a padded lining. The athlete has a higher basal metabolic rate and this, leading to an increase in body temperature, negatively affects his rest. Using a fabric to increase nighttime thermoregulation allows a corrective to a physiological need of the athlete to be placed. A second aspect concerns, for example, the lift in reception of the myform memory ReActive that we customize based on BMI and BSA values of the athlete. This almost maniacal attention to the athlete’s needs makes ReActive a unique product on the market.
I saw that Dorelan works with several associations to recycle the materials left over from the processing of your products. In addition to the ecological aspect, therefore, there is also a purely ethical aspect and one of social solidarity, of involving the most fragile. What are the origins of these side activities of yours?
I’M A DREAMER
represents a new way of doing business. A virtuous path, which began in November 2017, carried out with the collaboration of the young students of the Fashion System of the Saffi-Alberti Technical Institute of Forlì and CavaRei, an integrated pole supporting disability, created by the social cooperatives Tagram and Cammino, to be a point of reference for the community and offer people with disabilities educational, work and inclusion opportunities in the territory. Dorelan made its redundant materials available to the students, asking them, within the necessary technical-operational constraints, to develop prototypes for industrialization. The 5 prototypes best suited for future industrialization were sent to CavaRei, for final realization and mass production. A strategic choice in order to provide employment opportunities for disabled and disadvantaged people. Thanks to Cavarei’s diverse skills and services, professionalism and attention to detail guaranteed at every single stage of the process, the young designers’ ideas came to fruition and salvaged materials took on new life. The creations are on sale in 24 Dorelan stores from the end of October 2019. Purchasing I’M A DREAMER items means being aware of the project and becoming a part of it.