Jet Lagged – Prevention
The processes of all animals and plants follow a 24-hour rhythm called body clock. This is our personal synchronization with the daylight-darkness cycle. When you travel in an airplane crossing time zones, say from New York to Houston, your body clock cannot adjust itself quickly enough. Your will lose sync with the new daylight-darkness cycle of where you left (NY) and does not recover quickly for the place that you are going (Houston). This causes a condition of disorientation called jet lag.
A person experiencing jet lag can feel cranky, mildly depressed, as well as forgetful. The person may find it difficult to concentrate, may suffer a loss of appetite and may suffer from disturbed sleep pattern. The may become dehydrated and get swollen feet.
Jet lag is not caused by the actual time in the air spent but crossing time zones. A journey from Frankfurt to New York is likely to cause jet lag but a journey from Frankfurt to Johannesburg will not. These two cities, Frankfurt and Johannesburg, lie within the same time zone. The length of time in an airplane is sure to cause discomfiture mostly because you are sitting in a little seat in the same cramped position for a long time but not necessarily jet lag.
Jet lag does not affect all people all the time nor is its severity. The elderly seem to suffer much less from jet lag as compared to the younger ones. Also it seems to affect women of reproducing age group more often. It depends upon a person’s physiological adjustability. If you know you are prone to suffer from jet lag here are some of the precautions you can take that will cut down on the severity.
Prior to your flight get a good night’s sleep. Avoid embarking on the journey under strain; try to spend some relaxed time prior to the flight. Drink alcohol in moderation on the aircraft and, as always, DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. (Aren’t you tired of hearing that?) Get some light exercise such as walking up and down the aisle and a little stretching will help. Remove your shoes and try to stretch your feet, wiggle your toes some.
You can find many “anti jet lag” suggestions. Act on them with caution. Do not take sleeping pills to get over jet lag as some people may suggest; it may have rather unpleasant consequences. There are anti jet lag diets on the market. Efficacy apart, it is such a cumbersome remedy that it turns out to be not a very practical solution. An OTC (over the counter) homeopathic drug is available which is said to be effective and being homeopathic medicine it is stated to be free of side effects.
As an anti jet lag drug Melatonin has claimed to be effective. You must take it at specific times for a number of days, starting with a few days prior to going on the journey. Research does not support its anti-jet-lag claims and quite the contrary. It may lead to worsening of the jet lag symptoms. You must adhere to its strict instructions regarding timing are not followed. In fact in UK it is banned.
In some cases the jet lag condition may persist for many days. Experts suggest that the recovery rate that you can expect from jet lag is “one day per time zone.” Sleep well, eat a sensible diet, relax, and get some moderate exercise are the simplest cures for rapid recovery. How fun does this sound? A vacation is supposed to be a respite from all those “sensible” things. Try to whoop it up anyway. Bon Voyage!