Tips for sleeping on planes

If you work with athletes who travel, tell me if you’ve seen this before.

They fly across the country, and when they show up, something just feels off.

Reaction time is slow.

They’re moody and irritable.

OR they’re just tired flat when it really matters.

And we usually treat it like it’s just a sleep problem – but deep down, we know it’s more than that.

Jet lag isn’t just about being tired: It’s about your athlete’s internal clock being completely out of sync with when they’re supposed to perform.

They might be awake, but their nervous system, hormones, and decision-making speed are still operating in a different time zone.

So today we’re diving deep into this with someone who has lived this at the highest level of sport.

Tom Clark has spent over a decade working in elite performance — primarily in Formula 1 — supporting drivers and teams in one of the most demanding travel schedules in global sport.

He’s operated in a multifaceted performance role, helping athletes manage preparation, recovery, and sustained excellence under constant travel and pressure.

And he’s also a doctoral candidate specializing in jet lag, travel fatigue, and circadian disruption — researching how global travel impacts physiology, decision-making, and performance.

If you coach athletes who travel, or you want to optimize your own performance across time zones, this podcast is going to help you right now!

Quotable Quotes:

Effective circadian adjustment hinges on strategic light exposure and sleep timing, not merely on increasing sleep hours.

Traditional advice – like maximizing sleep or exercising immediately after travel – may actually hinder adaptation if misapplied.

Manipulating light, timing sleep, and behavioral adjustments are more reliable and cost-effective than supplements or ‘quick fixes.’

This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast:

• Tom’s background in F1 racing, and how that got him started in sleep science and circadian rhythm
• Learn how your circadian rhythm and body’s internal clock affects both sleep and performance
• What jet lag is, and how it can negatively impact physical and mental performance
• Why jet lag may not get the attention it deserves
• Practical strategies for minimizing jet lag and synching your internal clock in new time zones
• “Traditional Advice” for dealing with jet lag that may actually make things worse!
• How light exposure can help speed up (or slow down) your body’s internal clock
• Do supplements like melatonin help?
• Last but not least, a few more practical strategies to make travel better and sleep more effectively when you’re on the road!

Connect with Tom:

• Tom on Instagram
• Tom on LinkedIn
• Tom’s Company Phaze

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Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Physical Preparation Podcast!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts and leave your honest review. I’d also love to connect via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit our website.

Thanks so much for your support – love and appreciate you!

The post How Elite Athletes Manage Jet Lag and Travel Fatigue to Optimize Performance with Tom Clark appeared first on Robertson Training Systems.