stephen
curry

NBA player · Golden State Warriors

9 steps · last checked 19 oct 2026

eight hours of sleep, sunlight and breakfast in the first hour, cold tub and infrared sauna, compression boots in bed.

from his GQ “Real-Life Diet” and Business Insider interviews and a recent Business Insider piece on his sauna habit. He co-created Plezi Hydration.

what stephen uses see the routine

sleep8+ hours
first hoursunlight + food
pregame nap1–3 hours
sauna15–25 min

the protocol · at a glance

what stephen uses.

protocol as of sep 2026

4 items

gear4

Cold plunge tubcold tub at every opportunity
Infrared saunainfrared sauna, 15–25 minutes
Normatec compression bootscompression boots in bed
Sleep sound devicea sleep sound track

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food · what he has described

what stephen eats.

breakfastwithin an hour of waking
eggs, yogurt, smoothie
eggs or an omelet with breakfast meats and spinach; yogurt with granola and mixed berries; a small protein smoothie; sometimes half a waffle.
1·’25
pregamebefore games
protein, carb, veg
fish or chicken, pasta or rice, and a vegetable; not much red meat.
1·’25
treatabout one game in five
a small side of fries
“just to be a human being and have a little fun.”
1·’25

same meal again after a great game1·’25
two weeks of no rules right after the season1·’25

the routine · 9 steps

stephen’s day.

morning3 steps day3 steps evening2 steps night1 step

morning

On waking
Sunlight in the first hour
“Whatever time you wake up, try to get a little natural sunlight, get outside, get some fresh air.”
light
First hour
Eat within the first hour
game days: eggs or an omelet with breakfast meats and spinach, a bowl of yogurt, granola and berries, and a small protein smoothie.
nutrition
Morning
Mobility and core
“Some type of mobility stretching or core work in the morning if we don’t have shootaround.”
fitness

day

Afternoon
Pregame nap
“I usually take a pregame nap somewhere in there, at least an hour, somewhere between one and three hours.”
sleep energy
After games
Cold tub at every opportunity
“Just getting in the cold tub at every opportunity, the compression sleeves that get circulation in your legs going, the sauna.” His home recovery area has a cold plunge tub.
cold & heat recovery
Rest days
Infrared sauna, 15–25 minutes
20 to 25 minutes in his infrared sauna on rest days, and 15 minutes straight after a game or a big workout.
cold & heat recovery

evening

Wind-down
Compression boots in bed
“I wear Normatec compression boots when I watch a show in bed, read a book, or talk to my wife.”
recovery sleep
Before sleep
A sleep sound track
he puts on an audio track, “a sleep sound device meant to trigger the brainwaves and help you get deep sleep.”
sleep

night

11 pm–1 am
Night owl bedtime
“I go to sleep between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., depending on the night.” He aims for at least eight hours.
sleep

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more routines.

lebron james

nba player · philadelphia 76ers; co-founder of ladder

bed around 9, a nap every day, and a game day of stretching, ice, Normatec, a hyperbaric nap and a cold tub; no full meal until after practice.

see the habits

andrew huberman

neuroscientist · huberman lab

daylight in the first hour, caffeine before an early workout, three lifting days and three cardio days a week, sauna and cold on the rest day, and dim lights at night.

see the habits

Sources (3)

Last checked 19 Oct 2026.

Photo: Clément Bardot, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped, colour-adjusted, resized). All image credits.

stephencurry