What Is Jet Lag Syndrome?

Long-distance air travel is notorious for being inconvenient and unpleasant. Many people find long aircraft rides exhausting due to the difficulties of check-in, the stress of security lines, and the hours spent trapped in a cramped environment.

Jet lag frequently adds to the physical toll of long journeys. The misalignment of your body’s internal clock with the local time at your destination is referred to as jet lag. This is a common occurrence while flying across three or more time zones.

Jet lag can disrupt your sleep and trigger other unpleasant symptoms that last for days or even weeks following your journey. Jet lag may ruin your trip, whether you’re traveling for work or pleasure. Knowing about jet lag, including its symptoms, causes, and treatments, can make long-distance travel more enjoyable and less disruptive to sleep and overall health.

What Is Jet Lag?

Jet lag is a circadian rhythm sleep-wake problem that happens when your 24-hour internal clock, often known as your circadian rhythm, does not correspond to the local day-night cycle.

A person’s circadian rhythm normally aligns with daylight, boosting alertness during the day and sleep at night. This internal clock synchronizes with the 24-hour day to promote both physical and mental wellness. Because dawn and sunset occur at various times in different regions, a person’s geographic location influences their circadian rhythm. A jet leg occurs when a person travels east or west over three or more time zones.

Jet Lag Vs Travel Fatigue

It’s normal to feel exhausted after a long day of traveling. While this can be confused with jet lag, it is frequently caused by travel fatigue. Travel fatigue comprises symptoms such as exhaustion and headaches that can occur as a result of the physical demands of travel.

Airplane cabins with chilly, dry, low-pressure air might promote dehydration and make you susceptible to respiratory problems. Changes in air pressure can cause bloating, and prolonged sitting can produce leg edema. It’s generally tough to sleep upright in an airplane seat, especially with in-flight interruptions, so getting a good night’s sleep when traveling might be difficult.

All of these variables contribute to fatigue after a long travel; nevertheless, this is separate from jet lag.

Travel fatigue, unlike jet lag, does not involve a change in circadian rhythms. As a result, while travel tiredness normally goes away after a full night’s sleep, jet lag can last for days or weeks until a person’s internal clock adjusts.

It is possible to have both travel tiredness and jet lag following a long-haul flight, but jet lag is significantly more likely to induce long-term and severe symptoms.

What Causes Jet Lag?

Jet lag does not affect everyone who takes a long-distance flight. The frequency and severity of jet lag are influenced by a number of circumstances, including:

• Trip specifics: The overall distance traveled, number of layovers, time zones crossed, direction of travel, local daylight hours, length of stay at the destination, and other trip details can cause jet lag.
• Age: Although studies have yielded varied results, age may have a factor in jet lag. People over the age of 60 undergo circadian shifts that can make recovering from jet lag more difficult, however some research in pilots found jet lag to be worse in younger people.
• Sleep in the days leading up to a flight: Lack of sleep in the days leading up to a flight can enhance a person’s proclivity for jet lag thereafter.
• Stress: Being stressed can keep the mind and body on edge, interfering with sleep and making it difficult to cope with jet lag.
• Caffeine and alcohol use: Many people drink alcohol and coffee while flying, and these chemicals impact the brain in ways that can impair sleep.
• Jet lag history: People who have previously had jet lag are more likely to experience it again.
• Individual differences: For unknown reasons, some persons are more likely than others to develop circadian rhythm disturbance during long-distance flights.
• Arrival time: The time you arrive at your destination may have an impact on your circadian rhythm. Some research suggests that jet lag is minimized with afternoon arrivals compared to early morning arrivals for eastward travel.

Symptoms of Jet Lag

The following are the most common symptoms of jet lag:

• Sleep issues: You may find it difficult to fall asleep when you want to, or you may wake up earlier than usual. Jet lag can also cause sleep fragmentation.
• Daytime sleepiness: Jet lag typically induces drowsiness or fatigue during the day.
• Impaired thinking: You may have difficulties with focus or memory, or you may simply feel as if your thinking is sluggish.
• Malaise: Jet lag can cause malaise, which is defined as a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness.
• Stomach issues: Jet lag can cause gastrointestinal issues such as decreased appetite, nausea, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome.
• Seizures and sleep paralysis: In rare cases, jet lag can disrupt sleep architecture, increasing the risk of sleep paralysis and midnight seizures.
• Physical function is hampered: Your body may feel fatigued, and peak physical performance may be compromised, which is especially noticeable for traveling athletes.
• Emotional difficulties: Jet lag can make some individuals irritated, and evidence suggests that it might exacerbate mental health problems, such as mood disorders.

These symptoms appear after long journeys between time zones because the interruption to your circadian rhythm affects how and when your body generates hormones, which affect sleep and other biological processes.

People suffering from jet lag will exhibit one or more of the symptoms listed above. Symptoms may appear immediately or a few days after arrival. Many people sleep well the first night after a flight, only to have sleep problems the next day. Jet lag can linger from a few days to a few weeks8. In general, symptoms last 1-1.5 days every time zone traveled, however this varies depending on the person and the specifics of their journey.

How to Prevent Jet Lag

Jet lag can disrupt a vacation, work trip, or athletic performance. As a result, all types of travelers attempt to reduce the impacts of jet lag. The key to preventing and decreasing jet lag is promptly realigning your circadian cycle to match with your destination’s time zone. Until this is accomplished, symptoms can be managed. Here are ways to prevent jet lag:

Light Exposure

Light has the most potent influence on circadian rhythm, and adjusting your internal clock strategically may help you prevent or lessen jet lag. The impact on circadian rhythm is determined by the amount and timing of light exposure. Sunlight provides the most illumination and has the most powerful circadian impacts. To a lesser extent, different types of artificial light can also influence circadian timing. As timing is crucial, indiscriminate light exposure does not alleviate jet lag. Light exposure can either advance or delay your internal clock at particular moments.

Properly timed periods of brightness and darkness might assist in synchronizing your circadian cycle with local time. Light therapy lamps, often known as lightboxes, can provide strong light exposure with increased circadian influence when access to natural light is limited.

Setting your Internal Clock in Advance

Some techniques of avoiding jet lag involve altering your sleep routine in the days preceding your travel so that when you arrive at your destination, there is less of a difference between your circadian rhythm and the local time.

This strategy frequently includes carefully timed melatonin and light exposure, in addition to adjusting your bedtime, to proactively shift your circadian cycle.

While this technique may be advantageous in some situations, depending on your daily schedule and career, family, and social obligations, it may not be practicable.

Melatonin and Sleep Aids

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the body that helps to regulate your circadian rhythm as well as make you drowsy. Melatonin is generally generated in the evening, a few hours before bedtime, but jet lag can throw this rhythm off.

There are prescription medications and dietary supplements that increase melatonin levels in the body, and some evidence suggests that melatonin can help with jet lag.

Other forms of sleeping pills, such as prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as natural sleep aids, may help you fall or remain asleep, but they do not modify your circadian rhythm. In certain situations, they may even conceal a persistent case of jet lag.

Tips to Take Away…

• Reduce travel stress by ensuring you don’t leave packing for the airport until the last minute. Being rushed can increase stress and make travel more challenging.
• Get a good night’s sleep: Try to get a good night’s sleep at least few nights before your trip so you aren’t sleep-deprived at the start.
• Stay hydrated: Drink water to replace fluids and prevent dehydration while flying.
• Limit your intake of alcohol and caffeine: Limit your intake of alcohol and caffeine on board, or avoid them totally.
• Eat wisely: Reduce your chances of having digestive issues by eating a healthy, light diet. Choose fruits and vegetables over high-calorie, greasy treats.
• Make time for a stroll or other light physical activity: Exercising outside in order to acquire adequate daylight exposure will aid in the re-calibration of your circadian cycle.