PURPOSE: The current study examined the sleep, travel, and recovery responses of elite footballers during and after long-haul international air travel, with a further description of these responses over the ensuing competitive tour (including 2 matches). METHODS: In an observational design, 15 elite male football players undertook 18 h of predominantly westward international air travel from the United Kingdom to South America (-4-h time-zone shift) for a 10-d tour. Objective sleep parameters, external and internal training loads, subjective player match performance, technical match data, and perceptual jet-lag and recovery measures were collected. RESULTS: Significant differences were evident between outbound travel and recovery night 1 (night of arrival; P < .001) for sleep duration. Sleep efficiency was also significantly reduced during outbound travel compared with recovery nights 1 (P = .001) and 2 (P = .004). Furthermore, both match nights (5 and 10), showed significantly less sleep than nonmatch nights 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 (all P < .001). No significant differences were evident between baseline and any time point for all perceptual measures of jet-lag and recovery (P > .05), although large effects were evident for jet-lag on d 2 (2 d after arrival). CONCLUSIONS: Sleep duration is truncated during long-haul international travel with a 4-h time-zone delay and after night matches in elite footballers. However, this lost sleep appeared to have a limited effect on perceptual recovery, which may be explained by a westbound flight and a relatively small change in time zones, in addition to the significant increase in sleep duration on the night of arrival after the long-haul flight.
PURPOSE: The current study examined the sleep, travel, and recovery responses of elite footballers during and after long-haul international air travel, with a further description of these responses over the ensuing competitive tour (including 2 matches). METHODS: In an observational design, 15 elite male football players undertook 18 h of predominantly westward international air travel from the United Kingdom to South America (-4-h time-zone shift) for a 10-d tour. Objective sleep parameters, external and internal training loads, subjective player match performance, technical match data, and perceptual jet-lag and recovery measures were collected. RESULTS: Significant differences were evident between outbound travel and recovery night 1 (night of arrival; P < .001) for sleep duration. Sleep efficiency was also significantly reduced during outbound travel compared with recovery nights 1 (P = .001) and 2 (P = .004). Furthermore, both match nights (5 and 10), showed significantly less sleep than nonmatch nights 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 (all P < .001). No significant differences were evident between baseline and any time point for all perceptual measures of jet-lag and recovery (P > .05), although large effects were evident for jet-lag on d 2 (2 d after arrival). CONCLUSIONS: Sleep duration is truncated during long-haul international travel with a 4-h time-zone delay and after night matches in elite footballers. However, this lost sleep appeared to have a limited effect on perceptual recovery, which may be explained by a westbound flight and a relatively small change in time zones, in addition to the significant increase in sleep duration on the night of arrival after the long-haul flight.
Authors: Richard A J Mercer; Jennifer L Russell; Lauren C McGuigan; Aaron J Coutts; Donnie S Strack; Blake D McLean Journal: PLoS One Date: 2022-06-24 Impact factor: 3.752
Authors: Michael J Puchowicz; Eliran Mizelman; Assaf Yogev; Michael S Koehle; Nathan E Townsend; David C Clarke Journal: Front Physiol Date: 2018-06-06 Impact factor: 4.566
Authors: Dina C Janse van Rensburg; Audrey Jansen van Rensburg; Peter M Fowler; Amy M Bender; David Stevens; Kieran O Sullivan; Hugh H K Fullagar; Juan-Manuel Alonso; Michelle Biggins; Amanda Claassen-Smithers; Rob Collins; Michiko Dohi; Matthew W Driller; Ian C Dunican; Luke Gupta; Shona L Halson; Michele Lastella; Kathleen H Miles; Mathieu Nedelec; Tony Page; Greg Roach; Charli Sargent; Meeta Singh; Grace E Vincent; Jacopo A Vitale; Tanita Botha Journal: Sports Med Date: 2021-07-14 Impact factor: 11.928