Jet Lag in Sports

This chapter aims to generally consider air travel in sports and specifically jet lag. Air travel is an unavoidable stress for many athletes in high-performance sports, whether it involves regular short-haul flights or occasional long-haul trips. It is necessary to distinguish between travel fatigue and jet lag. The negative effects of short and medium-haul flights are more strongly caused by symptoms of travel fatigue and less by jet lag. With long-haul flights, the symptoms of jet lag increase with the number of time zones crossed. Accordingly, recommendations for dealing with air travel and jet lag are an important factor for success in sports.