Abstract
PURPOSE: To examine the impact of long-haul transmeridian travel (LHTT) on sleep and perceived jet lag symptoms in high-performance sport support staff travelling to Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, postponed to July 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. METHODS: For the purpose of this study, an observational descriptive design was used. Participants included were nine high-performance sport support staff (2 M/7F; 34.3 ± 8.3 y (mean ± SD)), who embarked on a long-haul eastward flight across eight time-zones from Ireland to Japan (approx. 24 h total travel time), to work at the Irish Team’s 2020 Summer Olympic Games pre-Games camp. Fourteen days before departure, baseline (BL) measurements were taken over two days. Measurements were repeated daily for eight days following the flight (D1-D8). Perceptual measures for symptoms of travel fatigue and jet lag were assessed via the Liverpool John Moore’s University Jetlag Questionnaire. Sleep (quality and duration) were monitored using wrist actigraphy and self-report sleep diaries. RESULTS: Participants perceived themselves to be jet lagged from D1 to D6 (p < 0.05). In comparison to BL, significant mean disturbances were reported on the days following arrival for meals, bowel activity, mood, sleep and fatigue; all normalizing on D7. From D1 to D6 after arrival participants went to bed earlier (p ≤ 0.02), with a shorter sleep duration (p < 0.05) from D2 to D6 in comparison to BL. Mean sleep efficiency was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than BL on four nights between D1 and D6. CONCLUSIONS: Following LHTT in an eastward direction across eight time-zones, it took seven days for sleep and perceptual markers related to jet lag and travel fatigue to normalise in high-performance sport support staff. These findings highlight the need for strategies to alleviate jet lag and travel fatigue symptoms and maximise sleep of support staff embarking on LHTT for major competition.
Published Version
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