How To Prepare For Travel!

Joint stiffness, dehydration and sleep deprivation, loss of appetite and a body clock sent haywire.

These are some of the common side effects of long distance travel and yet, according to sports scientists, they are factors often overlooked by the growing number of athletes making lengthy journeys to training camps and competitions.

Reporting in the Strength and Conditioning Journal recently, a team of researchers from the sports and exercise departments of the University of Gloucestershire and Birmingham City University described how many athletes travel with little planning for the potential impact it might have on their physical and mental wellbeing.

Although many of the unwanted side effects of long haul flights are impossible to avoid altogether, a better understanding of the precautions that can be taken can only bring benefits.

“Minimising the potential decrement in athletics performance caused by travel requires comprehensive management by athletes and coaches,” writes Richard Clarke, a senior lecturer in strength and conditioning at the University of Gloucestershire.

“But awareness of the fundamental mechanisms of fatigue associated with travel and implementing recommended coping strategies can provide favourable outcomes.”

So what can be done to alleviate the problems?

Avoiding sleep deprivation

“Sleep deprivation can have negative effects on athletics performance,” Clarke says. “And it can occur both from sleep loss on overnight flights and from jet lag.”

Preflight practices such as adjusting bedtime by 1-2 hours for 1-2 days before travel are recommended so that you partially adapt to a new time zone. “If possible, plan early morning or afternoon arrivals which will enable the next night’s sleep sooner compared with evening departures and early morning arrivals,” Clarke says.