Jet-lag protocols for fly-away rounds
Sepang, Yas Marina, Shanghai. The calendar doesn't care about your body clock. Here's how we shift it before the flight, not after.
By Body Clinic
A fly-away round is decided in the week before the flight. Drivers who arrive already adjusted spend Friday practice learning the circuit. Drivers who arrive on their home body clock spend it fighting to stay awake.
For an eastward trip of six to eight hours we start shifting sleep three days out, moving bedtime and wake time earlier by around an hour a day. Light is the lever: bright light in the morning, dim light and no screens in the evening. Caffeine stops after midday. Meals move with the sleep schedule so the gut clock follows the brain clock.
On the flight we plan sleep to the destination time zone, not to when the meals arrive. Eye mask, earplugs, water and no alcohol. On landing, the first day is about daylight and movement: a walk outside, a light training session and an early night, even if the body argues.
The same principles apply in reverse for the flight home, and for the driver's parents and engineers who have to make decisions on Sunday. It's a small amount of discipline for a large gain in performance, and it's exactly what the top teams do.
