I Traveled to Australia. Here’s What My Sleep Data Says About the Rams’ Travel Plans

Melbourne, Australia – When the Los Angeles Rams announced that they wouldn’t be arriving in Australia until a day before the game against the San Francisco 49ers, it became one of the bigger talking points in the media.. That was especially the case considering that the 49ers were taking the exact opposite approach.

While the 49ers left California last Wednesday, the Rams left on Tuesday night and are set to arrive in Melbourne on Thursday. The 49ers believe that adjusting to the time change will help them in the game. It’s clear the Rams feel the opposite.

It may be an unconventional approach, but it’s one that they have researched extensively. Earlier this summer, the Rams sent players and other staff to Australia to track how much they felt the effects of jet lag. By doing so, they came to the conclusion that the best way to handle the travel would be to prepare at home, fly as close to the game as possible, and then let their adrenaline carry them through the game. The Rams appear to be confident in the approach they’ve taken.

“Our expectation is our guys will be ready to go, and I'm not worried about it because I know what our plans are,” said McVay. “We're going to follow that plan, and then we're going to focus on our preparation and try to go be at our best and go swing when we get a chance to play against a great team.”

The Reasoning Behind the Rams’ Australia Travel Plan

There is also some science behind the Rams’ approach. With the 49ers adjusted to the time change, their body clocks will be playing the game at 10:30 in the morning. However, the Rams and their body clocks will be closer to their athletic peak at 6 p.m.

Still, after making the trip myself, I wanted to know how travel affects the body and what the Rams will be dealing with during their travels. Now, it’s worth pointing out that the Rams are a group of elite physical specimens with team doctors and a coaching staff ensuring they are getting the correct amount of sleep. Head coach Sean McVay also noted that all of the players would be able to get fully extended as their seats lay out into beds. As your average traveler in economy, I did not have that.

What My Sleep Data Revealed After Traveling to Australia

To help track the data, I wore a WHOOP fitness band that tracks metrics such as sleep and recovery based on HRV and respiratory data. I left for Australia on Monday, September 7, at 4:30 in the afternoon. My connecting flight in Dallas departed for Sydney at 10:55 p.m., which would allow me to hopefully sleep for much of the flight.

Date	Recovery	Sleep	HRV	RHR	Resp. Rate
Sept. 3	86%	81%	130	48	13.9
Sept. 4	56%	64%	116	48	13.3
Sept. 5	55%	58%	115	52	13.8
Sept. 6	37%	56%	88	60	13.8
Sept. 7	45%	77%	94	60	13.9

In the five days leading up to the trip, I averaged a recovery score of 56 with a sleep performance of 67.2 percent. It is worth noting that some Labor Day weekend activities resulted in more strain, which led to lower-than-normal scores on the fourth and fifth days.

While sleeping on the plane, my recovery dropped from an average of 56 percent to 38 percent. After averaging a sleep performance of 67 percent, it dropped to 36 percent. That’s over a 30-point drop in sleep performance.

On the plane, I managed to sleep from 6:15 p.m. to 11:47 p.m. Melbourne time. That would be the equivalent of sleeping from 12:15 a.m. to 6:47 a.m. PT.

That did not get better after arriving in Melbourne. While I pushed my body to stay awake throughout the day with coffee and energy drinks, I fell asleep at around 8 p.m. and woke up at 2:23 a.m. Melbourne time.

According to my WHOOP, my sleep performance dropped even further to 32 percent while my recovery was in the red at 29 percent.

What the Data Says About the Rams’ Travel Plans

It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison given the advantages and resources the Rams have that I simply don’t. With that said, it still provides some insight into how that level of travel affects the body. The 49ers may have struggled over their first few days in Melbourne, but they should be much more adjusted to the time change by the time the game arrives. The Rams will be hoping they can bank enough sleep on the first half of their flight so that the negative effects of the circadian disruption are mitigated.

That circadian disruption certainly affected my physical and mental performance, according to my WHOOP data. While my resting heart rate and heart rate variability weren’t disrupted significantly, my sleep performance took a dramatic hit.

Date	Recovery	Sleep	HRV	RHR	Resp. Rate
9/8	38%	36%	112	52	13.9
9/10	29%	32%	90	60	13.5

That’s exactly what the Rams are trying to avoid. Rather than allowing their players’ bodies several days to adjust to Melbourne time, they are hoping that managing sleep on the flight and maintaining their normal body clocks will allow them to perform before the effects of the time change fully set in.

The Rams have spent months planning this trip and are flying under different circumstances. My experience isn’t evidence that their strategy was right or wrong. However, it does demonstrate how disruptive a trip of this length can be to a normal person’s sleep schedule.

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