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- Dec 6, 2011
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That’s the point.
I’m an airline pilot so this is a way of life for me; the industry, the government, and the unions have been studying this for decades - it's an ongoing battle. I also spent ten years on submarine duty, the vast majority of that on the midwatch (midnight to six am for those that have never had the pleasure) so I had to effectively go through the equivalent of a time zone shift every time we went to sea, and every time we came back.
There are two issues here – fatigue, and circadian rhythm. Neither is a problem.
The games were both scheduled in the mid-afternoon eastern time, which helps a great deal (late games in the west, or early in the east, are brutal for the team that has the trans-con because that puts them the farthest out of their normal rhythm). Their game and pre-game routines would be close to what their bodies were used to. It also allowed them to (probably) make a direct flight from New York or Boston while staying within the NCAA’s 48 hour travel window; even with bus time it could have been a ten hour journey – certainly less than twelve anyway, so that’s not terribly disruptive, and since it would be dark by the time they arrived in California, their circadian rhythm wouldn’t necessarily try to reset if they checked in, got something to eat, and went to bed relatively quickly. Practice on Friday, game on Saturday (and travel that night to Oregon) should not have been a big deal.
The return trip would have been more difficult – at least one connection, possibly two, and some bus time. Depending on exactly where they flew from and to, we’re probably talking ten to twelve hours of quality airplane/airport time plus some bus time and getting back to Storrs sometime Tuesday morning with some poor sleep. I’m guessing they probably slept Tuesday morning and maybe had a light practice in the mid or late afternoon sometime just to help reestablish their routine and rhythm.
They would be expected to be groggy Wednesday – both scientific and anecdotal evidence is that the second day is the hardest – that’s when the fatigue issues really catch up and play havoc (we can “gut it” through the first day on adrenaline and/or of necessity, but that runs out after a while and the second day always drags). Sleep might be a little difficult Tuesday night since bed time would be later out and west and they slept late into the morning (or early afternoon) when they got back– that rhythm thing. But since they’re on break they don’t have to be up for classes nor do they have to do (much) studying after practice, so after another day or two – today – they should be fine.
Besides, they’re young. They’ll get over it.
P.S. One thing Phil mentioned is the east vs. west thing. I too do better going west but I am a “late” person.
Back in the 1980s the Navy sponsored a research project on “time deprivation” by placing people in an environment (if I remember correctly it was a furnished facility within a cave) and isolated them from anything that would give them any semblance of the passage of time. There was no radio or television, no newspapers, etc. They were allowed books, but I don’t think that they were allowed music (cassettes back in the day) – a person can read at his own pace but that pace varies, while a song, album, or cassette is more or less standard length of time – play a dozen albums and it’s been about eight hours, or a regular workday.
I think, if I remember correctly, that the lighting was like a submarine in that the common areas were lit 24/7 and the sleeping areas were dark 24/7; by being in a cave and sound isolated there would be no sense of whether it was busy (i.e. daytime) outside the living area. The test subjects determined when they slept and woke purely by how they felt.
What they found was that for the majority of people the normal circadian rhythm was a little under 24 hours, while a few were more than 24 hours – those are generally what are known as “morning people” and “night owls”. Because of the presence of the sun our natural rhythm stays in synchronization with the 24 hour sidereal day. But for “late cycle” people like me, it’s easier to stay up later and so going west is easier, while it’s harder to get up earlier so coming back east is harder.
By the way, for any fellow former submariners, one thing they found is that the 24 hour duty cycle was best (not a surpise), and the 12 hour cycle was next best (also not a surprise), while the 18 hour cycle was by far the worst. You can guess which cycle most submarine crews are on most of the time…
P.P.S. – As the Big East (at least as we knew it) continues to devolve, imagine if bi-coastal travel becomes a several times per season event. Not a good thing.
It may be time to evaluaate you for meds
(Hope you decide to come)