Detrimental effects of West to East transmeridian flight on jump performance

Abstract

It is perceived that long haul travel, comprising of rapid movement across several time zones is detrimental to performance in elite athletes. However, available data is equivocal on the impact of long haul travel on maximal explosive movements. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of long haul travel on lower body muscle performance. Five elite Australian skeleton athletes (1 M, 4 F) undertook long haul flight from Australia to Canada (LH(travel)), while seven national team Canadian skeleton athletes (1 M, 6 F) acted as controls (NO(travel)). Lower body power assessments were performed once per day between 09:30 and 11:00 h local time for 11 days. Lower body power tests comprised of box drop jumps, squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jumps (CMJ). The LH(travel) significantly decreased peak and mean SJ velocity but not CMJ velocity in the days following long haul flight. CMJ height but not SJ height decreased significantly in the LH(travel) group. The peak velocity, mean velocity and jump power eccentric utilisation ratio for the LH(travel) group all significantly increased 48 h after long haul flight. Anecdotally athletes perceived themselves as 'jet-lagged' and this corresponded with disturbances observed in 'one-off' daily jumping ability between 09:30 and 11:00 h after eastward long haul travel from Australia to North America when compared to non-travel and baseline controls.

Soccer activity profile of altitude versus sea-level natives during acclimatisation to 3600 m (ISA3600)

“…Equally, it is possible that the Australians' effort reflected travel fatigue 34 and reduced wellness 17 stemming from playing a match on the third day after arrival in Bolivia, after 30 h of long-haul travel and a 10 h time zone change. Long-haul travel is known to reduce counter-movement jump performance, 35 which in turn is related to the amount of HiVR performed by elite team sport athletes in competition. 36 In accordance with reduced capacity 17 at high altitude, 5 6 the peak 5 min running distance on arrival at 3600 m was 13-16% lower for Bolivian and Australians, respectively, than that reported with the same method at 1600 m. 3 As the magnitude of this standardised effect was evident for both Australians and Bolivians, it is intriguing that lifelong residence at altitude did not offer a protective effect against altitude for the Bolivians.…”

Effect of airline travel on performance: a review of the literature

“…Recently, in a prospective study, Chapman et al 50 assessed post-travel jump performance in 12 national team skeleton athletes (five from Australia and seven from Canada) and reported a significant variation in performance over the testing window. After initial performance deterioration in some jumping tasks, the peak velocity, mean velocity and jump power eccentric utilisation ratios (an indicator of power performance) for the travel group all significantly increased 2 days after the long-haul flight.…”

Effects of Northbound Long-Haul International Air Travel on Sleep Quantity and Subjective Jet Lag and Wellness in Professional Australian Soccer Players

“…Conversely, travel fatigue symptoms are induced by the demands of air travel, including the travel schedule (departure, stop-over and arrival times), mild hypoxia and cramped conditions. Whilst several studies have reported the detrimental effects of long-haul air travel east and west across multiple time-zones on performance, physiological and perceptual responses [6][7][8] , few studies have assessed the impact of long-haul air travel north and south with minimal time-zone changes. Due to minimal time-zone changes, it is presumed that travel fatigue symptoms are more likely to be present than jet-lag symptoms following air travel north and south between Australia and Asia.…”