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Under Armour’s new clothes help heal your body while sleeping

As we develop new materials, and find new ways to use them for our benefit, one day in the future we'll suddenly discover that clothes can do much more than clothe us.

Key takeaways

  • The bio-ceramic material absorbs heat emitted by the body and reflect back FIR, helping reduce inflammation and improve circulation, which, in turn, aids in recovery.
  • One drawback though is that it is still pricey to sleep like a Super Bowl winning quarterback.
  • The tops range from $70 to $100 and bottoms range from $60 to $100.
Cite or link to this article

Griffin, M. (2018) 'Under Armour’s new clothes help heal your body while sleeping', 311 Institute, 20 March. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/under-armour-new-clothes-help-heal-your-body-while-sleeping/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).

Could the right clothes, in this case pyjamas, help athletes, and the rest of us for that matter, sleep better and recover faster? That’s the bold promise behind Under Armour’s new Athlete Recovery Sleepwear, and it comes hot on the heels of another new invention from the company, who seem to be increasingly going "hi tech" in their quest to push the boundaries of fashion, a new 3D printed sneaker that was designed by an Artificial Intelligence. And if the company continues on as they are, which the likely will, then it's also likely that soon their new range of clothes will one day become connected wearables, sucking up quantitative information about the health of an individual and thumping it back up into their cloud to be analysed before providing the user with helpful recommendations.

The concept for the performance sleepwear was developed in collaboration with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is sponsored by the brand, who’s been using what’s known as Bio-ceramic treatments for injury prevention and recovery for specific muscles with great success. It’s these treatments that got Under Armour thinking it might be an idea to try to put the same bio-ceramic materials, materials that reflect Far Infrared Radiation (FIR), used in the treatments into a garment so an athletes whole body could benefit from it, and in this case they incorporated it into the patterned lining of a set of pyjamas.

The bio-ceramic material absorbs heat emitted by the body and reflect back FIR, helping reduce inflammation and improve circulation, which, in turn, aids in recovery. The technology also keeps the body from overheating while you sleep.

Tom Brady models the new tech, in bed

“I firmly believe that sleep and recovery are critical aspects of an effective and holistic training program,” said Tom Brady in a statement, “proper sleep has helped me get to where I am today as an athlete. It is something that I continue to rely on every day and I am excited to partner with Under Armour to bring game changing sleepwear with the same bio-ceramics technology I use to athletes all around the world.”

Besides having Brady’s stamp of approval, the sleepwear is worn by other Under Armour athletes, such as NBA star Steph Curry and golfer Jordan Speith. The fabric of the sleepwear is super soft and the silhouettes are stylish while the jogger pants look fashionable enough to wear outside. The pyjama tops also come in tank, short sleeve, and long sleeve, while the bottoms include shorts and pants, however, naturally, Under Armour notes that the more coverage you wear, the better your recovery will be.
One drawback though is that it is still pricey to sleep like a Super Bowl winning quarterback. The tops range from $70 to $100 and bottoms range from $60 to $100. However, the health benefits of FIR are backed by independent research from the National Institutes of Health and more importantly consumers seem to love them, with overwhelmingly positive reviews. So if it works for Tom Brady, maybe there is a chance this sleepwear could help you quickly recover from your next tough run.

311 Intelligence

What this means for your organisation

Clothing is becoming a health tool.

Under Armour has put a bio-ceramic material into the patterned lining of pyjamas. The material reflects far infrared radiation, which aims to cut inflammation and improve circulation. Garments now compete on what they do for the body, not only on look and feel.

The core material is ready now.

In 311's data, bio-ceramics sit at technology readiness level 9, with first products in 1975 and wide use expected by 2034. The action rating is Explore. The source adds that independent research from the National Institutes of Health backs the benefits of far infrared.

Heat control and data raise the stakes.

The sleepwear also stops the body overheating, which ties to the rising heat health toll, a trend 311 rates Act now. The source expects connected wearables that send health data to the cloud for advice. Under Armour also makes a 3D printed sneaker, and 3D printing is rated Watch, with wide use by 2036.

Three questions for your next leadership meeting

  1. Which of our products could carry a proven health benefit in the material?
  2. Who in our sector might partner with a leading athlete to test new materials?
  3. What would we do with health data if our garments collected it?

The trends and technologies behind this story

From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.

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Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data.

FAQ

Why does this matter?

As we develop new materials, and find new ways to use them for our benefit, one day in the future we'll suddenly discover that clothes can do much more than clothe us.

Matthew Griffin

About the author

Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute

Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."

Read full bio

Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.

An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.

As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.

Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.

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Sources and further reading

  1. Bioceramic en.wikipedia.org
  2. National Institutes of Health ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 20 March 2018. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2018). Under Armour’s new clothes help heal your body while sleeping. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/under-armour-new-clothes-help-heal-your-body-while-sleeping/

You are welcome to quote this article with credit and a link to the original.

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