Getting Ahead of Jet Lag

By: Randy Wilber, Ph.D.
USOC Sport Science and Technology

Travel is a fact of life for athletes. Once limited to the Olympic and Pan American Games, today's sport calendar is crowded with international and transcontinental competitions. As a result, coaches and athletes must be more aware of the possible effects of travel on performance. As anyone who's traveled overseas knows, the body can be tremendously affected by being forced to adapt to a new time zone.

Circadian rhythms are the normal daily rhythms that control physiological functions such as body temperature, heart rate, and hormone secretion. Circadian rhythms are set by the body's "internal clock" and are influenced by different time cues called zeitgebers. Zeitgebers include:

• Light versus dark
• Meal times
• Sleep time
• Exercise
• Social interaction

When zeitgebers are disrupted, an individual's circadian rhythms are ultimately desynchronized from their normal daily pattern. This occurs when you travel by air across time zones and is commonly referred to as jet lag.

COPING WITH JET LAG
Jet lag presents a real challenge to athletes who travel to competitions in Europe and Asia. However, simple changes in lifestyle patterns prior to departure, during travel and after arrival may ease the effect of jet lag.

When traveling abroad, the best strategy for reducing jet lag is to arrive at your destination several days in advance, allowing one day for each hour of time zone shift. Circadian rhythms will resynchronize to the new time zone by advancing approximately 60 minutes per day when traveling eastward, and delaying about 90 minutes per day when traveling westward.

Arriving several days in advance of competition, however, may not be practical for many athletes. An alternative strategy has been shown to be effective in reducing jet lag and is summarized using an example of an eastbound transatlantic flight from the United States to Paris. Essentially, this strategy allows you to reset your "body clock" to the new time zone. Specific modifications to diet and sleep patterns have the effect of advancing your United States circadian rhythms approximately six hours to match those of the Paris time zone.

• Follow a feast-fast diet in the days preceding departure. Fasting individuals adapt more readily to the daily meal schedule of a new time zone than individuals who have eaten. For athletes, fast means eat sparingly but adequately to maintain strength for training.
• Fast on the day of departure. Upon arrival in Paris, you will have a healthy appetite and be ready to eat a big breakfast. Your eating pattern will then be on Paris time.
• On the day of departure (e.g., 9:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time flight), coffee or tea should be consumed in the early afternoon to stimulate an advance of your circadian rhythms.
• On the flight to Paris, rest quietly with the lights off. This will help advance your circadian rhythms to Paris time.
• Upon arrival, eat a large, high protein breakfast on Paris time (7:30 a.m.). Protein stimulates the production of the hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine, which, in turn will help you stay awake and alert during the day.
• Eat a big lunch on Paris time (12:00 noon). Social interaction or general sightseeing is recommended for the early afternoon. A light workout should be completed in the late afternoon.
• Eat dinner on Paris time (6:00-7:00 p.m.). Dinner should be a high carbohydrate meal. Carbohydrate stimulates the production of the hormone, serotonin, which will promote drowsiness and help you sleep. Your sleeping pattern will then be adjusted to Paris time.
• Your schedule on subsequent days should follow Paris time for eating, sleeping, etc. By following this schedule, you should be ready for competition within 48 hours after arriving in Paris.

SUMMARY

To compete effectively in international competition, athletes, coaches, and team managers must plan for the effects of jet lag on performance. The best strategy for reducing jet lag is to arrive at your destination several days in advance, allowing one day for each hour of time zone shift. Arriving several days in advance of competition, however, may not be practical for many athletes. In this case, an alternative strategy is recommended (Table 1). Modifications to an athlete's diet and sleep patterns can effectively "reset" circadian rhythms to the new time zone.

TABLE 1
Jet Lag and Domestic Travel
Compared to foreign travel, jet lag is not as severe a problem for athletes traveling within the United States. However, it still presents a challenge to elite athletes who regularly travel from coast to coast in order to compete. The following are some recommendations for coping with domestic jet lag.

EAST/New York City (NYC) -> WEST/Los Angeles (LA)

• When you arrive in LA, your NYC circadian rhythms will be three hours ahead of the LA time zone.
• Athletic performance in the evening is affected on the first day (8:00 p.m. in LA =11:00 p.m. in NYC.
• If possible, compete in the morning or afternoon after a westward flight.
• Eventually your NYC circadian rhythms will resynchronize to the LA time zone by delaying approximately 90 minutes per day.

WEST/LA -> EAST/NYC

• When you arrive in NYC, your LA circadian rhythms will be three hours behind the NYC time zone
• Athletic performance in the morning is affected on the first day (8:00 a.m. in NYC = 5:00 a.m. in LA).
• If possible, compete in the evening after an eastward flight.
• Eventually your LA circadian rhythms will resynchronize to the NYC time zone by advancing approximately 60 minutes per day

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