With all the traveling I’ve done, I’m no stranger to Jet Lag. Besides flying from coast to coast in the United States, I’ve traveled to Europe, South America, the Middle East and as far as South Africa. My trips have ranged from a few hours to well over 30 hours of continuous travel.

From my experiences, jet lag with lack of sleep while traveling, having meals at all times of the day and night, and the physical stresses of travel with changing planes, layovers between fights, carrying your bags and so forth, all tend to blend together to form one miserable milieu that takes time to recover from.

Many of the problems associated with long distance travel are unavoidable, but you can do things to help with the problem of jet lag.

Why Jet Leg Happens

Jet lag has been the bane of travelers ever since high-speed commercial jets have entered the picture. Before their use it was very uncommon to travel far or fast enough to have jet lag. The physiological effects of jet lag are due to alterations in our circadian rhythms, our daily cycle of biological activity based on a 24-hour period and regulated by our environment and the alternation of night and day.

When our circadian rhythm is disrupted, it causes several difficult short term health and behavioral effects.

Humans operate on a 24-hour circadian cycle, and that cycle is based on, and influenced by, the continuing cycle of sunlight and darkness. When this cycle is dramatically changed, such as when we travel long distances quickly, we experience the biological and brain wave activity known as jet lag as we attempt to adjust to the new cycle.

This disruption of our internal body clock occurs in two separate but linked groups of neurons in a structure called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, located below our hypothalamus at the base of our brain. These cells turn on and off and tell other parts of the body what time it is and what to do. This body clock keeps us in tune with the pattern of night and day.

Travel across multiple time zones is the leading cause of jet lag, upsetting the body’s rhythm by the newly introduced cycles of daylight, darkness, eating and other functions contrary to what the body is used to. Long flights in the same time zone seem to cause much less jet lag as those on shorter flights that cross time zones.

Traveling to the east is considered more difficult than traveling west, as it pushes the cycles forward rather than back, which is harder to adjust to.

Jet lag can be further induced by travel to areas of extreme darkness or sunlight in contrast to your natural environment, such as going to the far northern or southern regions of the world. As a rule, it usually takes about one day for each time zone you cross on your trip to fully recover from jet lag, a little longer for traveling east versus traveling west. Most people will experience jet lag, but there is a large range as to how severely it affects each individual.

Symptoms of Jet Lag

The symptoms of jet lag vary and depend on several factors, including how many time zones were crossed, the individual’s age, state of health and the amount of sleep, food and alcohol consumed during the flight.

The following are typical jet lag symptoms:

• Headache
• Lethargy, fatigue
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Mild depression
• Inability to pay attention
• Loss of appetite
• Confusion
• Dizzy unsettled feeling
• Some gastrointestinal disturbances, such as diarrhea or constipation

How to Avoid Jet Lag

Some simple behavioral adjustments before, during and after arrival at your destination can help minimize some of the side effects of jet lag.

• Select a flight that allows early evening arrival time so you can get to sleep sooner after arriving.
• Anticipate the time change for very long trips by getting up and going to bed earlier several days prior to an eastward trip and later for a westward trip.
• Upon boarding the plane, change your watch to the destination time zone.
• Avoid alcohol or caffeine at least three to four hours before bedtime.
• Sleep if you can while traveling.
• Avoid heavy meals en route.
• Eat a light meal for the first meal at your destination.
• Bring earplugs and blindfolds to help dampen noise and block out unwanted light for sleeping.
• Try to get outside in the sunlight whenever possible. Daylight is the best stimulant for resetting your biological clock.
• The type of diet we eat does not seem to have an effect on minimizing jet lag, although targeted use of some caffeine may have an effect at times.
• Consider the short term use of low dose melatonin at bedtime for the first couple of nights at your destination.

Being physically fit, well rested, staying hydrated and eating a well-balanced diet will help you have fewer and lighter symptoms. Try to change your daily routine to match that of your destination as soon as possible.

I’ve also heard that wearing sunglasses may reduce the effects of jet lag. One thing is for sure, try to have a good attitude and have fun on your travels even if you are tired. When the trip is over you will remember all the wonderful things you did, and you won’t remember how tired you were!