Sleep and Travel management

Sleep is one of the most important aspects of good mental recovery and allows athletes to feel refreshed and recharged as well as have the required energy to complete the demands of their sport or performance. Ineffective sleep has been shown to contribute to poor performance, poor concentration during skilled tasks and poor skill execution during performance. When your body clock is ‘out’ or disturbed, many athletes describe this as a similar feeling to that of ‘jet lag’. By nature, your body clock is programmed partly by light and dark and by the activities that you undertake at different times throughout the day. When athletes travel to compete, it is often a good idea to factor in small changes to sleep patterns and routines and have strategies to minimise disruptions to your body clock.