FC Barcelona's schedule to overcome jet lag

FC Barcelona’s quest to win the Club World Cup bears many challenges but one which may not instantly come to mind is being dealt with by the medical staff.

Japan is eight hours ahead of Barcelona, something which could pose a difficulty for the players adjusting to the new country when they arrive.

Meals are essential to this adjustment and therefore, during their long trip to Japan, the players’ breakfast at the start of their journey served as lunch, while the meal which would have been lunch three hours later served as dinner.

Following the two meals, six to seven hours of sleep is then recommended on board given that it will already be night time in Japan. Two hours before landing there is the option of breakfast, which can also be consumed at the hotel. The flight is scheduled to land at 7.20am on Monday, Japan time while in Barcelona it will be 11.20pm on Sunday.

Once in Yokohama, it will be advised to have a small nap before lunch at 1.30pm while sleep should be avoided after dinner so that the body can adapt to the new schedule. In fact, the first team will train in the afternoon on Monday, from 6.30pm Japan time (10.30am CET) in what will be the first training session in Japan.

To end the day, the players will have dinner and sleep according to Japanese time, overcoming the fact that, in Barcelona, it will still be afternoon.