Jet Lag: When Your Body Needs To Catch Up

Long-distance airline flights which travel from east-to-west or west-to-east, crossing the world’s time zones, upset the body’s natural 24 hour cycle. Travelers feel sleepy at the wrong time of the day and their eating patterns are disturbed. Other symptoms of jet lag include fatigue, irritability and inability to concentrate and even nausea.

Experienced travelers find that jet lag is more severe when flying from west to east than from east to west. This is because as you fly west, the day becomes longer and conversely, as you fly east, the day becomes shorter, and the body seems to adjust more readily to a lengthening day.

But, no matter which direction you are traveling, there are steps you can take to help minimize the effect of jet lag:

• Wherever possible, book daytime flights which arrive at their destination in the evening.

• As soon as you start your trip, try to adjust to the waking and sleeping schedule of your destination. If you’re flying west to east, avoid drinking caffeinated beverages and try to sleep in the plane. However, if you are flying east to west, drink coffee or tea and exercise by walking up and down the aisles.

• Once you’ve landed, follow the mealtimes of your new location. Remember, what you eat can retard or accelerate you adjustment to the new place. Foods rich in protein, such as fish and chicken, will help you keep awake. To help you sleep, eat foods rich in carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta.

• Recent studies show that outdoor light can have a powerful effect on the sleeping and waking schedules. By spending parts of the first two days of your trip in outdoor light, you can help speed your adjustment to the new time zone.