The Effects of Travel on Your Performance - Belinda Riseley

We know that when you travel for motorsports, you are going over a few timezones to get to your events.

So it's important to get your body back into tune, in order to get the best out of your body when you are away.

Preparation is key for effective performance. Especially if you are traveling over different time zones, or going to different states as well and get more so for our American picks.

When you are traveling, make sure that you take plenty of water. So Hydration is key when you are flying.

Make sure that you're taking regular stock so that you can get out and stretch. And because you don't want to get dehydrated or get cramps.

Be sure to carry your medication and your snacks with you. Especially if you have a specific diet that you adhere to. 

What are the high risks of traveling?

The first one is obviously getting illnesses and injuries, especially on flights.

Especially during COVID, even though you might not have to wear a mask, most of the time over here in Australia still have to wear a mask on a plane. It'd be better to be more prepared than less prepared. Carry your hand sanitizer, all of those things that we should have been doing over the last couple of months.

It's just still best practice to continue. 

When we are traveling, especially for performance or for athletes, the last thing we want to happen is getting sick before we have to go and compete.

Be mindful of fatigue.

Most of us let fly out late on Thursday/Saturday night. In case you've got long delays, you could have some sort of anxiety already before going to the event.

Depending on what type of event it is, it could be your first time driving it in this category. It could be the one-off Australian national event.

So be mindful of the times that you're booking your flights. Because it does affect your performance, concentration, and alertness. 

It can also affect your sleep. If you're not sleeping well, eating the right food, or not training, in the same way, it will affect your performance. 

Sometimes we don't have that flexibility due to our other external factors like school or work, but be mindful of that when you are booking travel.

If you normally do go to bed at nine o'clock, you wouldn't want to book an 8 pm flight, especially if you've got a three three-hour flight ahead of you because obviously going to be behind the eight ball. So just be more mindful of the type of flights that you're booking.

If you're traveling overseas, especially just for an international event for the weekend, you need to be mindful of the jetlag.

Here’s a trick: A few days before you travel, start living in that place’s time. 

Adjust your meals, your sleep time, light exposure, and even your exercise training. It can help with your performance in your concentration when you are trying to adjust to the jetlag. It can greatly affect your performance. 

Not being prepared can cause illnesses such as gastro and anxiety. 

In the worst-case scenario, if you need to, there's a supplement called melatonin that you can take. 

If you don't sleep well, you won’t be able to perform well. 

For our international friends in America who have to go over a few times to get to your event. Be mindful of those time zones.

Just try and get your body into that habit before you actually get to the event, especially if you're only going there for a one-off event.

International travel may cause mild hypoxia. This means, that if you're flying too much, there could be an absence of oxygen in the tissues to sustain your body function.

That comes down to long drives as well. That if you're just sitting in one spot for a long period of time and not getting any movement to that those muscles, you can get quite uptight and restricted in your movement.

So it's good that you keep moving, keep stretching, especially get on those long-haul flights. So make sure that you are regularly getting up and stretching those muscles.

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