At your best.
When it matters.
We prepare athletes for competition,
and astronauts for rocket launches.
The importance of circadian rhythms
in performance optimization
Enormous effort is made to optimize athletes’ performance, including complex training schedules, detailed nutritional instructions, and emphasis on psychological health and mental strength. Unfortunately, two of the most important factors, circadian rhythms and sleep, are frequently ignored, reducing training efficiency and impairing performance. Athletes need to be well rested before performing, and allow sufficient sleep recovery after games. The timing of performance, relative to the timing of the internal 24-hour circadian clock, is often not considered, particularly whether the natural circadian peak in performance matches game time.
Circadian rhythms
regulate
nearly all of
our biological systems
Aligning circadian rhythms with
game time for peak performance
Circadian rhythms and physiology
Our circadian (24-hour) clock in the brain internally generates near-24-hour rhythms that control many aspects of our physiology, metabolism and behavior, including our sleep-wake cycle, alertness, performance and mood patterns, and many metabolic processes. This internal “circadian time” differs between individuals. Many aspects of physiology relevant to sports performance exhibit daily rhythms or are sensitive to sleep loss, including core body temperature, muscle strength, shot accuracy, and anaerobic performance. Cardiac and lung function, as well as metabolism and appetite are also affected by “circadian time”.
“We use Timeshifter with our elite level athletes to give them a competitive edge.”
Michael Watts, Under Armour
“We are happy with the partnership with Timeshifter that started in November 2023 with our Europa League away game against Qarabag in Azerbaijan. It means the highest possible level of preparation of our players for the many games in different time zones. The fixture list is packed and the slots are demanding due to the short intervals between the individual games on different continents. Thanks to individually organised plans for our players’ games in international and European competitions, we have found an effective answer to jet lag and thereby achieved greater performance levels despite the big workload.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Challenges in circadian alignment
The effects of the circadian clock on performance are well understood, but due to a misalignment between the internal circadian rhythm in performance and the scheduled game or training time they are often not optimized. Misalignment can be caused by travel across time zones (jet lag), and not adapting the team’s schedule to ensure the circadian clock is shifted to promote peak performance at game time (e.g., training and meeting times, sleep times, light exposure patterns, etc). Often, both factors are present which will only worsen performance.
“Timeshifter plays a crucial role in our players jet lag management. Its simple and effective strategies makes it an ideal support tool to maximize time zone adaptations in international football when players have to cross the Atlantic to represent Canada and play within a few days of travel.”
Canadian Soccer
“Timeshifter has been a real game changer for me when traveling across time zones battling jet lag. It helps me perform at my highest level and is now part of my competitive edge. I can highly recommend all travelers use it.”
Holger Rune
Maximizing performance
through circadian control
The key to addressing the known circadian factors in peak performance is to reset the individual’s circadian rhythm to be aligned as closely as possible to the game start time, particularly for away games (and even those in the same time zone).
We help astronauts
perform at their best
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