Even if you’ve completed at least one flight in a different time zone, you most likely faced sleep problems and came across some of the jet lag symptoms. If you want to define jet lag -or answer directly to what’s jet lag- it is a temporary sleep problematic condition that disrupts your internal clock and occurs when traveling swiftly across different time zones.
Jet lag is also known as desynchronosis or circadian rhythm sleep disorder.
Jet lag occurs because your body’s clock aligns to your time zone of origin, not the new one you travel to.
Why does jet lag occur?
When jet engines appear, they were a revolution for the mass transit of humans across our planet. However, they caused an unpredictable biological disaster.
Your body has its twenty-four-hour internal clock (circadian rhythm) that signals your body the times of wakefulness and sleepiness. Jet lag occurs because your body’s clock aligns to your time zone of origin, not the new one you travel to.
Does everyone get jet lag?
As we mentioned, jet aircraft offered the ability to race through different timezones faster than our twenty-four-hour internal clocks could ever adjust. Consequently, we feel tired and sleepy during the day in a distant country.
Our internal clock thinks it’s time for bed in the morning of a different timezone. At night, you are frequently unable to sleep because your biological rhythm thinks it’s daytime.
Almost everyone who travels to a different time zone suffers jet lag to some extent. Usually, travelers who go eastward will have a more challenging time adjusting to a new time zone. More on that later.
How long does jet lag last?
Your internal clock can only readjust by about one hour every day you are in a different timezone.
As I mentioned above, jet lag is a temporary sleeping disorder. However, it might not be so brief for many of us. Every time I was traveling from Singapore to Greece, I needed more than one week to recover. Most of the travelers who go east need around five to ten days to adjust fully. Recovering from that sleeping problem, it’s a slow process; that’s why you should avoid short trips to distant countries.
Imagine that your internal clock can only readjust by about one hour every day you are in a different timezone. That means it adjusts one hour (per day) backward if you are going west and one hour ahead if you’re going east.
Who is likely to be jetlagged?
Below are the actions that increase the likelihood to suffer from desynchronosis;
- Crossing many timezones (Asia to Europe, Europe to the US, and vice versa.)
- Traveling from west to east.
- Being a frequent flyer. (Pilots, aircrew, or business travelers usually suffer from it.)
- You are an older adult.
- You can’t sleep in the plane.
- Consuming alcohol or caffeine on the plane.
Why is it easier to travel from east to west?
As I mentioned above, you may have noticed that it’s easier to adjust in a west timezone than an east one.
That’s because the eastward direction requires that you fall asleep earlier than you would normally. Thus, you “lose” time by traveling ahead. In contrast, the westward direction requires you to stay up later, which is an easier task when you arrive at a new place.
Secondly, in the book Why we sleep, Matthew Walker concludes that our natural circadian rhythm is longer than 24 hours (about 24 hours and 15 minutes, in fact.) Therefore, it is somewhat easier to stretch a day than shrink it artificially.
What are the symptoms of Jet Lag?
Insomnia as a jet lag symptom.
Jet lag symptoms usually experience within a day or two of travel or even immediately after you’ve arrived at your destination.
Those symptoms might include:
- Sleep disturbance (waking up in the middle of the night)
- Insomnia (not sleeping at all)
- Lethargy (random sleepiness)
- Fatigue
- A heavy head
- Irritability
- Concentration problems
- Confusion or slight depression
- Lack of appetite
- Dizziness
- Diarrhea or constipation
How can you prevent those jet lag symptoms (or reduce their effects)?
The 13 most efficient tips that will help you beat jet lag.
Currently, there’s no treatment you can follow to get rid of it completely. Hopefully, in the future, sleep therapists will find a way to beat their effects once and for all as a part of holistic wellness practices.
Therefore, how can you deal with the problem efficiently to enjoy your trip as much as possible? I’ve been flying for years (plenty of meetings and business conferences abroad, also), so whenever I applied the tips below, I was feeling slightly better.
- When you fly westward, choose flights that arrive in the early evening local time so that you can sleep early in the night at your new destination.
- When you fly eastward, select flights that arrive either in the morning or noon (try not to sleep before the local nighttime, no matter how tired you are) or after midnight at the new destination (preferably 3 or 4 am, and put an alarm after 6 or 7 hours). When I flew from Latin America to Prague, I tried to stay awake as much as possible by purchasing Prague castle tickets. Prague Castle is a history complex of buildings that spiked my interest and kept me awake for hours.
- Prepare and adjust your schedule beforehand. If you have a long flight eastward, try to go to bed early for several days before (one hour earlier than your usual sleep time). If you have a westward flight, try to stay awake ’till late. Align your eating schedule accordingly.
- Set your watch or smartphone to the new timezone several days before your trip to get a better sense of what’s the time there.
- Be active during the flight by stretching or walking the aisle.
- Drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol and caffeine so that you won’t dehydrate.
- If it’s nighttime at your destination when you depart, try to sleep on the plane. Use earplugs or noise-canceling headphones to block the noise and eye masks to avoid the light.
- If it’s daytime at your destination when you depart, try not to sleep on the plane.
- Don’t stay less than 5 or 6 days at the new destination. Also, make time for your rest. If you have a special meeting, business conference, or another event that requires you to be rested, try to arrive some days before so you can adjust.
- Get a lot of rest before your flight. If you fly sleep-deprived, you make jet lag worse.
- Expose yourself in daylight at the right times. Bright light influences your body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm), so if you regulate your exposure to it, you will adjust more comfortably to your new timezone.
- If you travel westward, expose yourself to a lot of daylight early in the evening. It will help you stay up till later times.
- If you travel eastward, absorb as much sun as possible (preferably after 10 or 11 am so the light will be too bright). I hopped on a Seina River sightseeing cruise while traveling from the US to France to keep my excitement up and stay awake as much as possible. As mentioned earlier, avoid the flights that arrive after 4:00 am and before 8:00 am when you travel eastward, as your body might mistake the early-morning light for the evening dusk.
Some people also consider using sleeping pills or melatonin sprays. I try to avoid drugs, so I’m not a big fan of those sprays or pills.
If anything else helped you beat jet lag, please mention it in the comments, and I’ll add it to my list.
Conclusion:
Jet lag is an integral part of a long flight and a trip to a faraway destination. There is no way yet not to experience it fully. However, to recap, those 12 ways will help you beat jet lag:
- Westward travel: choose flights that arrive early in the evening.
- Eastward travel: choose flights that arrive early in the morning.
- Prepare and adjust your schedule beforehand.
- Set your watch or smartphone to the new timezone several days before your trip
- Be active during the flight.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Sleep on the plane if it’s nighttime at your destination when you depart.
- Don’t sleep on the plane if it’s daytime at your destination when you depart.
- Avoid short trips to a faraway destination (< 5 days).
- Get a lot of rest before your flight.
- Expose yourself in daylight at the right times.
