The genius reason why Cristiano Ronaldo naps five times a day

Cristiano Ronaldo's dedication to being the very best is second to none and much of his success can attributed to his daily routine.

Ronaldo is still scoring goals aplenty at the age of 39, with 42 in 43 games for Al Nassr.

He remains in incredible physical condition and is well on course to continue playing in his forties.

He is so meticulous when it comes to his diet and training but Ronaldo also places great emphasis on his rest.

Ronaldo began working with sleep coach Nick Littlehales when he was banging the goals in at Real Madrid and the specialist has stressed just how important the snoozes are.

The Portugal skipper typically takes short naps of an hour-and-a-half each time throughout the day, sleeping in a fetal position.

He does this around five of six times per day, normally relaxing with friends after dinner and taking part in a swim session at 10pm.

Image: Getty

Ronaldo will then have a nap until midnight, as well as another short burst of sleep around 3am before he wakes up for the day.

It's claimed doing short bursts of sleep is a better method than the recommended eight hours per night.

"It is not a nap, this is for older people who watch television," Littlehales said on the sleeping cycle, as per Record.

"It is a way to sleep less, but to improve recovery.

"Football players have private lives. The sport they play has very demanding schedules, which will continue to be so.

"Many young athletes I work with suffer from insomnia, anxiety, stress and all those things that end up being part of the world of sport."

When Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia in a game-changing transfer, he had to adapt his schedule as teams train later in the day because of the heat.

"The biggest difference I have found in Saudi is obviously the heat and adapting schedules to train later in the day when it is cooler," he told LiveScore.

"But I have really gotten used to that now."