Jet lag

Jetlag: Short overview

• Prevention / treatment: even before the flight begins to adapt to the new time zone, take over the rhythm of the new time zone immediately, spend a lot of time outdoors at the destination in daylight, give the body time
• symptoms: Fatigue, sleep problems, decreased efficiency / motivation, headache, gastrointestinal problems
• Causes: Daylight and darkness control an internal clock via hormones. If it is unbalanced, you will experience jet lag symptoms

Tips against jetlag

The following tricks will help your body get used to a new time zone faster. This will help prevent jet lag or at least reduce or reduce discomfort. But beware: this only makes sense if you stay in the new time zone for more than two days. For shorter trips, it is advisable not to allow the body to get used to it. If possible, then stick to the usual sleep-wake rhythm. Incidentally, on longer trips, the anti-jetlag preparation already begins before you sit on the plane.

• Begin to adapt to the future time zone just three days before the flight. If you to the west flyGo to bed one hour later each day and get up an hour later. at Traveling east it works the other way round: go to bed one hour earlier every day and get up an hour earlier. In addition, helping to move your meals and your activity rest cycle along with it will help.
• Set your watch to the time of the destination as soon as the plane rises in the air.
• Sleeping in the plane? If you fly east, try to sleep while traveling. If you travel west, you should try to stay awake and sleep only when the sun sets in the destination country.
• Take over directly the Rhythm of the new time zoneSo, eat at local times, use daylight for physical and mental activity, and go to bed after the new day-night rhythm.
• Additionally, it may help the first few days at the new location take it easy allow – If possible – and especially to sleep on the first night after arrival.
• Spend as much time as possible outdoors, because daylight inhibits the production of sleep hormone Melantonin

Jet lag: treatment

If sleep problems, tiredness, poor performance and co. Stop, it remains to be seen. The jet lag symptoms disappear after a few days on their own – as soon as the internal clock has synchronized with the new local time. This means that no medical treatment is necessary. For western flights, this is usually faster than a flight to the east. As a rule of thumb: Man needs an average of one day per time zone, which he flies through, to get used to the new local time and to recover from jet lag.

Interestingly, different body functions adapt at different rates. You get used to the new sleep-wake cycle more quickly, while the hormone balance takes a little longer to fully change. For example, the cortisol, which ensures that you are fully capable of high stress.

Jet lag and melatonin

An allegedly effective drug against jet lag is melatonin. The body produces this hormone naturally: darkness promotes its release; If daylight falls on the retina, this inhibits melatonin production.

Melatonin tablets could therefore normalize the disturbed day-night rhythm with a jet lag. Dangerous: A wrong time of taking extended the complaints. It is particularly difficult to estimate the correct intake time for flight crew. It is often unclear with them which time zone the internal clock is currently ticking. Another disadvantage of melatonin tablets: About possible long-term and side effects and what happens if you take them regularly, is still little known.

Jet lag: symptoms

Do you think you are jetlagged? This is how he expresses himself:

• disturbed general condition
• fatigue
• Sleep-in and sleep-through disorders
• increased need for sleep
• increased tiredness
• daytime sleepiness
• lack of concentration
• reduced efficiency
• a headache
• anorexia
• Gastrointestinal problems
• subdued mood
• diminished motivation

Jet lag: direction of flight

The more the time zones are crossed (the maximum is twelve), and the faster this happens, the greater the jet lag symptoms. In principle, they can occur both on flights to the west and to the east – but they are usually stronger in East travel. The reason: When you fly west, the day is longer, so the time moves backwards. This is easier for the body than a shortened day, as it happens on eastbound flights. According to studies, a time difference of eight to ten hours to the east causes the strongest jet lag.

Jet lag: individual differences

Not all people are equally sensitive to a quick change of time zones. Jet lag complaints are therefore individually very different. In general, jet lag seems to be more pronounced in women and the elderly, while men and younger people tend to synchronize faster with the new time zone. In addition, evening people and people who change their daily rhythm often adapt to a new time zone more easily than typical morning people and persons with firm sleep-wake rhythms.

Jet lag: causes

In each person, an internal clock is ticking. It makes you feel awake or tired or how much you can afford. Because it regulates about the hormone and the electrolyte balance or body temperature. Control center for the internal clock is a specific brain region. This is calibrated by the change of daylight and darkness. If this internal clock is out of balance, you may experience jet lag symptoms.

Jet lag: description

Jet lag is not a disease, but a temporary disorder that results from the rapid crossing of time zones (shifts in the day-night rhythm). Due to the fast time zone change, the traveler’s internal clock and the external time of the environment are temporarily out of sync. At a slower cruising speed, such as by car, bus, train or ship, the internal clock manages to synchronize with the new time zone – the typical jet lag symptoms remain. Even on short trips, the inner clock is not confused. If the time difference is less than 60 to 90 minutes, the body can easily compensate for this.

Two-thirds of people experience jet lag discomfort when crossing time zones by plane. The rest is spared or has only slight problems.

Jet lag: examinations and diagnosis

Anyone who suffers greatly from possible jet lag symptoms can seek advice from the family doctor. The information given by the patient on his complaints and recent trips are usually enough for the doctor to diagnose jet lag. Possible questions in the anamnesis conversation are:

• Which symptoms do you suffer from?
• Since when do the complaints exist?
• Have you recently made a plane trip? If so, where to go?

Further examinations are generally not necessary for jetlag. However, if the nature and severity of sleep and dormancy disorders are to be more accurately captured, a sleep log can be created. The person concerned must document important sleep parameters daily for a longer period of time, for example the bedtime and the morning time to get up, how long it takes for him to fall asleep, if he wakes up at night etc. The doctor then evaluates the information.

Additional information

Book recommendation:

Avoiding Jetlag: Fit and relaxed on holiday – from day one !, Michael Schulze, 2014, Schulze Media.