Team Visa: Dedicated Olympians, Even in Their Sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is the key factor that separates mere mortals from those going for gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, according to new research[1] by Visa.

Findings from research conducted in the United Kingdom show that Team Visa athletes[2] (among whom are Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, Tom Daley, Mo Farah and Michael Phelps) may literally spend half of their year asleep - 167 days to be precise. In contrast, the average person sleeps less than half this amount, clocking up a mere 91 days’ sleep per year.

The research also revealed that the Team Visa athletes researched consume twice as many meals per year as the average Briton, at some 1,460 meals compared with 730 meals for a non-Olympian. In addition, a Team Visa athlete consumes 2,190 pieces of fruit each year compared with 645 pieces by the average person.

When the researches compared the average exercise levels of Team Visa athletes to those of the average person in Britain, they found that the Olympians spend six hours of each day exercising, versus only three hours of exercise each week for the average person.

Richard Chang, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Greater China and the Philippines for Visa said, "Olympic athletes are at the peak of fitness and we can all learn how to live a healthier life by following some of their regimens: eating well, getting plenty of sleep and exercising regularly - although maybe not for six hours every day! While the world is united in watching the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games unfold, it is a great time to give some thought to the benefits of making our own everyday lives more balanced and active.