Rossiter Antonia, Comyns Thomas M, Sherwin Ian, Nevill Alan M, Campbell Mark J, Warrington Giles D
Sport Ireland Institute, Sport Ireland Campus, Dublin, Ireland.
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Chronobiol Int. 2022 Dec;39(12):1640-1655. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2022.2139186. Epub 2022 Nov 11.
The objective of this study was to holistically examine the impact of long-haul transmeridian travel (LHTT) on perceptual, mood, sleep and physiological markers in Olympic team support staff travelling to Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. An observational descriptive study design was used. Nine support staff members of the Irish Olympic team (2 M/7 F; age 34.3 ± 8.3 y (mean ±SD)) embarked on a long-haul (LH) 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 pre-Olympic Games camp, postponed to July 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic. Perceived jet lag and travel fatigue symptoms, mood states and salivary markers for circadian rhythm and stress were assessed in the morning and evening during the week prior to travel as baseline (BL) measures and on days 1 to 8 (C1-C8) and day 15 (C15) post-travel. Night-time sleep (duration and quality) was monitored via actigraphy monitors and self-report sleep diaries. Participants perceived themselves to be significantly jet lagged for six days post-travel (p < .05). Morning sCort decreased by 66% on C1 and remained significantly lower than BL until C6 (p ≤ .03). On arrival participants perceived sleep to be worse than BL on arrival (C1, C2, C4, C5; p ≤ .04), with significantly shorter sleep duration (C2, C3, C6; p ≤ .01) and lower sleep efficiency (C2, C6; p ≤ .04) recorded by actigraphy, all normalizing by C7. Negative changes in mood states were evident in the evening time following LHTT, with significant elevations in confusion (C2, C3, p ≤ .02), fatigue (C2, C3; p ≤ .03) and depression (C3, C7; p < .05) and reduction in vigour (C2, C6, C7; p < .05). Following LHTT in an eastward direction across eight time-zones, it took seven days for perceived jet lag, physiological markers for circadian rhythm and sleep to normalize in Olympic team support staff. Despite alleviation of jet lag and fatigue and return of sleep to normal by C15, vigor remained low, indicating a "submerged" mood profile in these Olympic team support staff. These findings highlight the need to put strategies in place before and after LHTT for the Olympic Games to assist Olympic team support staff to maximize sleep, minimize stress and assist with expediating recovery from jet lag and travel fatigue, allowing them to perform optimally in supporting Olympic athletes in their final preparations for the Games.
本研究的目的是全面考察长途跨子午线旅行（LHTT）对前往日本参加2020年夏季奥运会的奥运团队支持人员的感知、情绪、睡眠和生理指标的影响。采用了观察性描述性研究设计。九名爱尔兰奥运团队的支持人员（2名男性/7名女性；年龄34.3±8.3岁（平均值±标准差））乘坐长途（LH）向东航班，从爱尔兰跨越八个时区前往日本（总旅行时间约24小时），在爱尔兰队2020年夏季奥运会前训练营工作，该训练营因新冠疫情推迟至2021年7月。在旅行前一周的早晨和晚上评估感知到的时差反应和旅行疲劳症状、情绪状态以及昼夜节律和压力的唾液指标，作为基线（BL）测量值，并在旅行后的第1至8天（C1 - C8）和第15天（C15）进行评估。通过活动记录仪和自我报告的睡眠日记监测夜间睡眠（时长和质量）。参与者在旅行后六天内自我感觉存在明显的时差反应（p <.05）。早晨的促肾上腺皮质激素（sCort）在C1时下降了66%，直到C6一直显著低于BL（p≤.03）。到达时，参与者感觉睡眠比到达时的BL更差（C1、C2、C4、C5；p≤.04），活动记录仪记录显示睡眠时长显著缩短（C2、C3、C6；p≤.01），睡眠效率降低（C2、C6；p≤.04），所有这些在C7时恢复正常。LHTT后晚上情绪状态出现负面变化，困惑感（C2、C3，p≤.02）、疲劳感（C2、C3；p≤.03）和抑郁感（C3、C7；p <.05）显著升高，活力降低（C2、C6、C7；p <.05）。在向东跨越八个时区进行LHTT后，奥运团队支持人员感知到的时差反应、昼夜节律生理指标和睡眠需要七天才能恢复正常。尽管到C15时时差反应和疲劳感有所缓解，睡眠恢复正常，但活力仍然较低，表明这些奥运团队支持人员存在“隐性”情绪状态。这些发现凸显了在奥运会LHTT前后制定策略的必要性，以帮助奥运团队支持人员最大限度地提高睡眠质量、最小化压力，并协助加快从时差反应和旅行疲劳中恢复，使他们能够在支持奥运运动员进行奥运会最后准备工作时发挥最佳水平。
