LGFA Partnership

When Aidan Forker, Armagh Gaelic footballer and2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning captain, visited the DFI Beds showroom recently, he wasn't just browsing - he was on a mission for better sleep. We sat down with Aidan for a quick-fire Q&A on all things sleep, sport, and what really goes on in the team hotel the night before a big match.

Great sleep isn't a luxury, it's a non-negotiable. Especially when juggling life, leadership, and Leinster finals. So, we asked our LGFA Sleep Ambassador, Marion Hayden, to share her sleep routine, how she manages recovery, and why quality rest plays a key role in performance, on and off the pitch.

We asked our LGFA Sleep Ambassador, Marion Hayden, to share her sleep routine.

This competition is open to all current and former LGFA players, as well as Gaelic4Mothers&Others participants. Entrants must be aged 18 years or over and based in Ireland/NI.

At DFI Beds, we believe good sleep isn't just about the right mattress. It's also about how you live, your routines, your mindset, and, as new research shows, your dinner plate.

A recent study from China found that how well you sleep could play a big role in your   cardiopulmonary endurance(in other words, how well your heart and lungs support you during exercise). But it's not just as simple as "sleep better, perform better." 

Researchers studied 266 university students to see how sleep quality impacted their fitness levels. They looked at how well the students handled exercise using a 20-meter shuttle run test (think back-and-forth sprints) and assessed their sleep and emotional well-being using questionnaires.

The results were eye-opening...

The link between sleep quality and nutrition isclear. Better sleep leads to better food choices,more energy, and improved performance.