Today’s CEOs face myriad challenges: a global pandemic and a sea change in how and where employees want to report to work, just to name a few. For leaders, the pressure has never been greater. How do you mitigate it? In our new series, we asked executives about their everyday wellness habits to learn about the tactics they use to minimize stress and maintain their well-being.
Matteo Franceschetti is co-founder and CEO of eight sleepthe New York-based sleep fitness company that uses AI to turn the bed into a perfect health platform for improved health, performance, and longevity.
Coffee or tea? And what do you put on it?
I drink coffee in the morning, exclusively espresso. Later in the morning, I drink hot Earl Gray tea with lemon. On the weekend I like to have a nappuccino: I take a shot of espresso before a short nap to wake up feeling energized and mentally alert.
What is your favorite breakfast?
I don’t normally have breakfast. I have found that doing intermittent fasting it works great for me, it gives me more energy and focus while improving digestion. During the weekdays, I will fast between 13 and 20 hours and eat during a period of time for dinner, which will be my big meal of the day. On weekends, I follow a 16:8 intermittent fasting ratio, where I fast for 16 hours and eat all of my food in an eight-hour period from noon to 8 p.m.
Tell us about your exercise routine.
I am an avid tennis player, I started playing and competing at a young age in Italy. Now that I live in Miami, the year-round sun allows me to play two to four times a week. I also work from home here, where I have a platoon bicycle and treadmill, as well as a Tonal, free weights and sauna. My most recent purchase for the home gym is a Unique Technogyma device he had been eyeing for a long time.
How many hours do you sleep in a typical night?
I go to bed around 9:30 pm and get up around 6:30 am every day, including weekends, and I sleep nine hours a night. I use our Eight sleeping capsules to optimize my sleep. It helps me fall asleep faster and keeps me in a deep sleep longer through the bed’s thermoregulation technology.
Two hours before going to bed I will do a thermal shock practice, which has been very good for me to sleep. By exposing myself to extreme heat through a sauna or hot bath, followed by extreme cold through a ice bath or cold shower. Exposure to hot/cold not only helps reduce inflammation, improves blood flow, and aids in muscle recovery, it also improves my sleep dramatically. Going from a 145℉ setting to 40℉ helps stimulate blood flow and puts my natural body responses to work, preparing me for restful sleep.
I will also practice mobility exercises around 9 pm and use wellness technology devices such as the Hypervolt percussion massage gun and Normatec air compression boots from hyperice at least a couple of times a week.
Finally, I have lights that gradually begin to dim around 7pm throughout the house, giving off softer orange hues that help me prepare for sleep.
How do you de-stress?
Physical activity is very important to me. I have learned that it helps me de-stress and also gives me energy. I have always liked sports, so I enjoy these activities. I also enjoy motorsports, so whenever I can I go down to the farm circuit in South Florida and race with go-karts or cars. It’s a great way to keep my mind off the usual stuff, as there’s no way I can think of a work project when I’m going around a corner of the track at 100mph.
Based on your phone, what was your daily average screen time for the past week?
Twelve hours, eight minutes. I try to minimize my screen time closer to the evening and also use philips hue lights which are orange to help me reduce any blue light before bed.
Which app do you use the most?
Lazy for work. Although I reside in Miami, we have team members spread across the country in our New York and San Francisco offices, as well as remote and internationally based employees. Slack allows us to stay in real-time communication to discuss all facets of the business.
When was the last time you took a day off? What did you do?
I usually work on Sunday afternoons, to prepare for my week and get ahead of any key things that come up. But this past Sunday I decided not to do any formal work. Instead, I spent the day doing what I describe as active recovery: enjoying activities that energize me, investing in my health and relationships, that can give me new ideas or perspectives for my work. This includes reading, catching up on podcasts, playing tennis, and playing in the pool to soak up the sun. My wife and I work together at Eight Sleep since we co-founded the business. So even when we take some time off, we can have conversations about the brand, business opportunities, and product, in a more relaxed context, like walking the dog around the neighborhood.
What is your company doing to prioritize employee wellness?
Everyone at our company receives a free Eight Sleep Pod, as a way to invest in your well-being through sleep fitness. We don’t shy away from wondering how we sleep and making sure we all prioritize this recovery time so we can bring our best game into work hours.
What is your favorite gift?
I decided to start following a ketogenic diet and has done so for many years. I tried the ketogenic diet after noticing that carbohydrates trigger me inflammation and low energy levels. Now I fast and keto because it keeps me at peak energy levels. All that to say, I’ll still have an Italian meal every now and then, it’s in my blood and I’ll never be able to completely give that up.
Show us a photo of your happy place.
Courtesy of Matteo Franceschetti
