Imagine you have just arrived in Athens, Greece, after an overnight
flight from Atlanta. It’s 9 a.m. local time, but 2 a.m.
according to your body clock. You feel fatigued and slow-witted.
Your muscles hurt and your head is pounding. In less than 48
hours you’ll be vying for an Olympic gold medal. What,
if anything, should you do to optimize your athletic performance?
Although practical advice abounds, the answer to this question
remains largely unanswered by scientific research, according
to a recent position statement co-authored by University of
Georgia exercise science researcher Patrick O’Connor and
published by the International Federation of Sports Medicine
(FIMS).
“The effect of air travel on athletic
performance remains poorly understood because professional sport
teams, granting agencies and private foundations rarely have
been willing to support research aimed at addressing this question,”
said O’Connor, a professor in UGA’s College of Education
and lead author of the FIMS position statement.
Athletes who compete internationally frequently blame jet lag
for performance problems. One of the most famous instances of
this was when U.S. athlete Greg Louganis blamed jet lag after
hitting his head on the diving board during the springboard
preliminaries at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. And recently, U.S.
sprinter Maurice Green blamed jet lag for his loss to Portugal’s
Francis Obikwelu in the 100 meters at the Gaz de France track
meet.
Jet lag is a condition characterized by fatigue, dizziness,
sleep loss, headaches and reduction of alertness. Although it
is widely believed that jet lag impairs the performance of athletes,
there are no consistent or compelling studies that offer reliable
results.
The FIMS position stand summarizes the scientific literature
on air travel and sports performance and calls for more research
to understand the link. It also provides practical advice on
what athletes can do before, during and after air travel to
minimize the affects of jet lag.
Some of the practical advice includes gradually shifting the
sleep schedule each day toward that of the destination a few
days prior to departure, stretching and performing light exercises
each hour during the flight and avoiding heavy training for
the first few days after the flight.
Since most of the adverse effects of air travel are thought
to be caused by circadian rhythm disturbances, an interruption
of the body’s natural 24-hour biological cycle, the position
statement includes information about three interventions for
shifting circadian rhythms, bright light and darkness schedules,
melatonin and exercise.
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UGA
exercise science professor Patrick O’Connor says more research
needs to be done to understand how jet lag affects athletic performance.
