Jet lag is the disturbance to sleep patterns produced by
travelling across several times zones when flying East or West.
It is usually worse when you fly East (towards the Middle East,
China and Japan or returning to the UK from a stay in the USA)
as the body finds it harder to accept a shorter day (in effect
requiring you to go to bed early and sleep) than a longer day
(requiring you to stay up longer and then sleep).
Jet lag is associated with a feeling of tiredness, confusion and
lethargy. The most common problem is an inability to sleep at
night in the new time zone. Sufferers will find it difficult to
fall to sleep at the required time and despite only a small
amount of sleep sufferers will often wake up very early at what
would have been the normal waking time in their normal time
zone.
If you take medicines at the same time each day, such as the
oral contraceptive pill or insulin, you should discuss this with
your pharmacist to ensure you do not miss doses or take too
much.
Your body has a natural body clock that dictates the daily
pattern of waking and sleep. This pattern is called the
circadian rhythm and is set to your local time zone by the hours
of light and dark you experience. This circadian rhythm affects
when you feel awake and tired, but also when you feel hungry,
your body temperature and blood pressure and even when you go to
the toilet.
When you travel across time zones it takes a while for your body
clock to adjust, and so it may be making you feel wide awake
when it’s bedtime in the new time zone or very tired whe
n
you should be raring to go. This can be a serious problem on
business trips but also can spoil the first few days of a
holiday that has cost you a fortune!
Most people find that symptoms of jet lag will gradually reduce
over 2-3 days and the symptoms are not a serious health problem
but can be rather disruptive and very inconvenient. You can help
your body adjust by adopting the correct times for eating and
sleeping in the new time zone as soon as possible. This may mean
really trying to stay up when you first arrive. Spending time
outside may also help as natural light will influence your body
clock to adapt more quickly. Avoiding dehydration is also
important to reduce jet lag.
Melatonin
is a naturally occurring
hormone that can help to ease jet lag by "resetting" the body
clock. Melatonin is naturally released by the body in the
evening when it gets dark to let your body know it’s time to
sleep, and production is reduced in response to light to help
you wake up. It can be used to help jet lag by helping you to
sleep at the appropriate time for the new time zone.
Some people will use sleeping tablets to help them sleep when
they need to but they tend to be addictive and have undesirable
side effects, so this approach is not recommended.