Keywords
sleep - jet lag - athletes - Olympic Games - COVID-19
Jet lag is a relatively recent problem that has only arisen with the ability of humans
to rapidly cross multiple time zones. The more time zones a person crosses in a short
period of time, the more pronounced and significant are the effects of jet lag in
the body, and the greater the time required to recover from it.[1] International athletes often travel across the world to participate in different
competitions, exposing themselves to its potential effects. Competition between elite
athletes is intense and even minor errors can result in defeat after years of training.
Any ramification from jet lag, and the consequently impaired sleep quality, in the
days before the games can have a significant result by affecting training and performance
at a crucial moment (particularly if the athletes have not had enough time to fully
recover).
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, postponed for 2021 due to the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic, was held in Japan, which is located in the Far East. It resulted
in some repercussions for the athletes involved in the games, who had to travel from
the West, such as desynchronization of the biological clock, and impaired physiological
processes, including sleep. It might have been harder for athletes who had to travel
East, because advancing the body clock is known to be more challenging than delaying
it. Moreover, this edition of the Olympic Games was atypical because of the unprecedented
outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic with which the athletes had to deal. These included
physical confinement, fear of being contaminated and the health consequences and repercussions
on training for those who were infected, among other problems. Pulmonary function
deficit, tiredness, and/or psychiatric disorders expected from patients that have
been infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), can
also affect athletes. As a result of previous infection, or the many other consequences
of the COVID-19 pandemic, some athletes taking part in the Olympics were probably
more vulnerable to failure in their physical capacity during the competitions.
Jet lag and COVID-19 are totally distinct conditions, as the first is more manageable,
and the second is a disease that was firstly difficult to treat and contain with a
number of significant health outcomes. As the pandemic was out of control in 2020,
athletes were concerned about the disruption caused to their training schedules and
the inability to take part in competitions. Many athletes became worried about their
performance, their physical condition, the continued support of their sponsors, and
hence their financial security. Some athletes contracted the disease, and although
most of them recovered completely, some experienced a continuing range of conditions
including respiratory symptoms, metabolic disorders, poor general wellbeing, cardiovascular
conditions, gastrointestinal disorders, and increased mental health burden in the
same way that some individuals in the general population did.[2] In this adverse scenario, it is worth noting that sleep problems and poor sleep
quality can contribute for developing negative emotions and even more drastic thoughts,
including depression or suicidal ideations. The stress generated by the pandemic and
the confinement was intense. Lack of initiative for activities, anxiety, mental, and
sleep disorders were among the outcomes in various populations during the pandemic,
and this burden will still be felt in the years following this global health event.[3] It should be observed that the impact of this pandemic, especially in the most critical
period, was marked by increasing poor sleep quality and circadian misalignment. Reduction
in sleep duration, higher latency of sleep, daily sleepiness, altered immune response,
and increased incidence of sleep disorders have been related with the scenario of
COVID-19 in the general population;[4] consequently, it may have overcharged athletes. Higher sleep latency, later mid-sleep
time, and a decrease in the frequency of training were detected in athletes during
this period according to a survey-based study.[5]
In elite international competitions, such as the Olympic Games, the differences in
the results between the competitors are usually slight and define the podium. Ideally,
all athletes should be exposed to the same conditions to avoid external factors interfering
in performance. Western countries were more affected by SARs-CoV-2 in number of registered
cases than Eastern countries and this fact might be reflected in the performance of
the athletes in the Tokyo Olympics.[6] In Tokyo (2020), Germany had the lower final medal results (ninth position) in an
Olympic Games since 1976, which occurred in the Montreal Olympic Games when Germany
was in the twelfth position in the final results. Italy also had their worst medal
ranking (tenth position) since the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. In the opposite
direction, Japan had their best final medal results (third position) ever seen in
an Olympic Games. Japan's second best position being in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964,
when it reached the fourth position. It is possible that the potential for jet lag
to have a negative effect on their performance was increased, adding to the psychological
and physical consequences of the impact of the pandemic in these European countries.
This letter congratulates all athletes and highlights the repercussions of the pandemic
associated with jet lag that some athletes from the Tokyo Olympics (2020) had to deal
with to achieve their best sporting performance in an Olympics.
