How Flying Fools Your Body Clock
When it’s midday where you are, but your body thinks it’s time to crash. That’s jet lag.
Jet lag is now included as one of the 84 known or suspected sleep disorders and affects millions of people each year.
When traveling to a new time zone, our bodies are slow to adjust and remain on their original biological schedule for several days. Result? We feel sleepy during the day, and wide awake at night.
In general, the severity of jet lag symptoms is directly related to the number of time zones crossed by a flight. Jet lag symptoms typically last longer following eastward flights. Flying east usually makes it harder to drop off to sleep. Flying west results in early morning awakenings. It’s a problem, either way.
All ages are susceptible, but those over the 50 are more likely to develop jet lag than those under the age of 30. Also, it is possible that pre-existing sleep deprivation will intensify jet lag.
How do you know you’ve got it?
Symptoms of jet lag include:
• Daytime sleepiness
• Nighttime alertness (insomnia)
• Loss of appetite and other Gastrointestinal dysfunction
• Mood disturbances
• Difficulty concentrating or focusing
How do you get over it?
Researchers say that gradually bringing your bedtime in line with the time zone of your destination, before you go, may prevent or reduce jet lag. On average, it takes about a day for each hour of time zone change to recover from jet lag.
