How to deal with jet lag

11 October 2010

Everyone who has ever flown over Europe, Asia or the United States has experienced the feeling of arriving in a different time zone.

For almost all of us this causes a feeling of disorientation better known as a jet lag.

Our body clock takes care of our day and night rhythym,body temprature,sleeping and hormone regulation and needs some time to adjust to a new timezone. When we travel quickly from one time zone to the next, such as in a jet plane, this knocks out our bodyclock, and we feel terrible for a few days until our bodies adjust. This is jetlag.

The symptoms of  jet lag

Possible symptons of  jet lag are:

• fatigue,insomnia
• disorientation
• dizziness
• headaches
• moodswings
• lost of appetite

These symptons can be varied, depending on the amount of timezone alteration. However it is

believed that around 70% of the people who fly will experience some of these symptons. Especially, the elderly are likely to experience it, children on the other hand are less likely to suffer from a jet lag.

There is no way to completely avoid jet lag, unfortunately that is just the consequence of being able to travel a huge distance in a relatively short period.

However, there are ways to minimize the effect of jet lag by taking some simple steps before during and after a flight. Follow these holiday tips to reduce jet lag:

Before the flight:

• Healthy people are more likely to overcome jet lag fast, so when you follow a healthy diet, exercise and are in good shape you will have a easier time overcoming the jet lag.
• Be carefull with medication, this speaks for itself, every medication has sideffects and therefore can increase the effects of  jet lag once you are in the other timezone.
• Avoid stress: often a flight will cause you stress because you need to take care of many things and often will forget stuff that you need to do at the last minute. Try to prepare yourself well so that you will be relaxed once you are boarding the plane.

During the flight:

• A psychological trick that helps is to put your watch in the time of your destined timezone. That way you will get used to the time a bit during the flight and when you land.
• When you are on a overnight flight it is good to catch some sleep, do not take any medecation that helps you fall to sleep.
• Ask for earplugs, a blanket or a pillow, just things that will help you sleep better.
• Don't drink alcoholic beverages, also Caffeine is also a product you should skip. Drinking a lot of water is advised, it helps again dehydration and the dry atmosphere of the plane.
• Excersise your legs during the flight
• Take off your shoes to minimize the swelling of your feet
• Some people choose to make a stopover during a long flight and sleep some hours in a hotel before taking a flight to your destination, this way it breaks the journey a bit.

After the flight:

• Try to adjust to the local habits immideately, so eat a breakfast although your bodyclock might tell you it is time for dinner. Also do not take  a quik nap or things like that. It is better to wait it out until the local bedtime, otherwise your sleepingrhythym would just get further disoriented.
• exposure to sunlight is also said to help overcome jet lag

There are no remedies against  jet lag, however one other way to minimize the impact is to take melatonin, over the years the medicin has become more popular, notice that melatonin does not eliminate the jet lag it just reduces the impact and helps you adjust to the new timezone quiker. You can get melatonin at your local pharmacy.

Nowadays it is also possibly to follow jet lag diet, which you can find online on various sites.

In the end  jet lag is a unavoidable but these are difinitely the best ways to help you deal with it and overcome it quickly.