"When you’re travelling constantly, recovery becomes part of your preparation." — Alex Morgan
In elite sport, sleep has long been recognised as a cornerstone of recovery. But for athletes competing across time zones, achieving consistent rest can be far from straightforward.
Jet lag, disrupted circadian rhythms and irregular match schedules all place strain on the body’s internal clock. For women’s teams now competing more frequently on global stages - from football and rugby to cricket and athletics - managing these disruptions has become a growing priority.
Sports scientist Dr Shona Halson, who has advised Olympic teams on sleep and recovery, has emphasised how travel fatigue can quietly undermine performance if not addressed properly.
"Sleep is the most powerful recovery tool available to athletes," she said when discussing travel recovery strategies.
"But travel can easily disrupt both the timing and quality of sleep, so teams need deliberate plans to manage it."
Increasingly, those plans begin long before athletes step onto a plane.
High-performance staff now use circadian rhythm modelling to adjust sleep schedules gradually in the days leading up to international travel. Athletes may shift bedtimes earlier or later depending on the direction of travel, allowing their internal clocks to begin adapting before departure.
For female athletes, these strategies can be particularly important during congested competition schedules.
Former US international footballer Alex Morgan has spoken about how recovery routines evolved across her career as women’s football became more global.
"When you’re travelling constantly and playing in different environments, recovery becomes part of your preparation," she explained.
"Sleep, hydration, and finding time to switch off are huge."
Professional leagues are beginning to reflect this growing awareness.
In women’s football, some clubs now schedule training sessions later in the day following long-haul travel, allowing athletes additional recovery time in the morning. Others provide sleep specialists to help players manage travel fatigue during international tournaments.
These approaches reflect a broader shift in sports science.
Rather than treating sleep as something that happens passively, teams are starting to manage it as a performance variable - just like training load or nutrition.
And as women’s sport continues to expand globally, the ability to rest effectively between matches may become one of the most important competitive advantages of all.
Because in elite sport, performance is rarely determined only by what happens on the pitch.
It is also shaped by what happens the night before.
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