Between classes, practices and cross-country flights, college athletes often live life on a tight schedule. Caroline Penner, an undergraduate researcher at Seattle University, presented her research at the 2026 American Physiology Summit. Her research tracked how in-season travel affected the sleep patterns and game performance of Division I women’s soccer players at Seattle University and what the data revealed about the relationship between the two.

Q: What did your research look at?

A: Our study examined how in-season travel relates to the sleep patterns and game performance of Division I women’s soccer players. We wanted to determine if travel affected sleep and athletic performance, and whether those differences are interconnected. 

Q: What did the travel schedule look like?

A: The travel schedule was demanding. Players left Wednesday afternoon after early morning practice and played Thursday evening. Then they traveled again on Friday for Sunday’s game, flying back to Seattle after. Players were away from campus for nearly five days with two games during that stretch. At the time of the study, Seattle University competed in the Western Athletic Conference, and the team traveled from Seattle to locations throughout the West, including Las Vegas, California, Idaho, Oregon and Utah—all by plane with afternoon departures and late-night returns.

Q: Did travel interfere with normal sleep patterns?

A: While this is a preliminary investigation, we did see some interesting shifts. Players woke up about an hour earlier on Wednesdays, the day the team traveled. On Sunday nights returning home, they tended to go to bed about an hour later, resulting in about 40 minutes less sleep. On Thursday nights, athletes went to bed about an hour later than on nongame nights—even when they played at home—but slept about 40 minutes longer after away games compared to home games. This additional sleep may facilitate recovery and offset the effects of travel.  

Q: How did sleep variations affect performance?

A: Players showed their highest performance at Thursday home games. The largest performance decline came during Thursday away games, which corresponds with the earlier mid-week wake times required for travel. Performance during Sunday games was moderate and generally similar regardless of location, suggesting players may have adjusted to being on the road by the second game of the trip. We are currently analyzing whether specific changes in sleep directly predict the performance fluctuations we observed. 

Q: Did anything surprise you?

A: Several players said they napped more during away trips, and most felt more tired overall on the road. Since we only tracked nighttime sleep, we missed any daytime sleep. Those naps may be an important part of the picture we didn’t fully capture.

Q: What’s the most important takeaway from your study?

A: The shift in sleep schedules surrounding travel may affect athletic performance more than the total amount of sleep. Travel stresses athletes in ways that go beyond what we can measure.