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The science of jet lag... and how best to beat it
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Jet lag
Jet Lag is a debility similar to a hangover. Jet Lag derives from the simple fact that jets travel so fast they leave your body rhythms behind.
Our biological clocks are synchronized to a 24-hour period. Our internal clocks drive our circadian rhythms, which anticipate dawn and dusk, and control everything from blood pressure to how hungry we are. When we fly to a different time zone, (or work night shifts), our internal clocks go out of sync.
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We take a few days to adjust
Our bodies take a few days to fully adjust, depending on not only how many time zones have been crossed, but also the direction of travel.
Usually, it would take five or six days to adjust to a six-hour shift in time zone. When you travel east, your body has a shorter time to synchronize with the regular 24-hour sun cycle. When you travel west, your body has extra time to adjust.
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Speeding up the adjustment
Generally, the best way to fool your biological clock is to shift your internal rhythms before the flight.
- Restrict light exposure to specific times.
- Restrict rest and meals.
- Adjust activities such as walking and running to specific times.
- Use melatonin - the hormone that makes us sleepy - in small amounts. However, certain people should avoid melatonin.
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Your Body is a Clock
Around 30 to 50 percent of people sleep between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am. Another 40 percents are either slightly morning people or slightly evening people.
To understand...
Early Bird or Night Owls
The body is an orchestra of organs, each providing an essential function. In this metaphor, the circadian rhythm is the conductor. The conductor makes every neurotransmitter, every hormone, and every chemical in the body cycle with the daily rhythm.
This makes us our sleep habits unique and tailored.
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Social Jet Lag
Irregular sleep schedules and broken sleep-wake times are not just an occasional traveling phenomenon, but a wider problem due to our social lives conflicting with our sleep patterns.
Our Internal Alarm Clock
Our internal body clocks are better programmed to help us sleep and wake up, according to our unique body chemistry and energy levels.
Ignoring our internal clocks in favor of the alarm clock, and following our social obligations, sacrificing on sleep, is taking its toll on our health.
Poor Sleep
As our sleep patterns shift, leading to poor or no rest, there are a bunch of diseases that become more likely:
- Obesity
- High blood pressure
- Alzheimer's disease
- Metabolic imbalances and diabetes
- Heart disease.
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How alcohol affects sleep
A lot of the symptoms associated with a hangover are a product of sleep deprivation.
Alcohol affects our ability to get into what is known as rapid eye movement (REM...
Eating before bed
It is important to leave at least a couple of hours between eating and sleeping.
There is a whole raft of so-called sleepy foods – anything containing tryptophan, serotonin, melatonin, magnesium, calcium, potassium – often eaten in the hope they will aid sleep.
If you do want to eat these foods, do it because it’s a nice ritual, not because you need it to sleep.
A cure for sleepwalking
There isn’t a cure.
People who sleepwalk usually are advised to keep their room safe by locking windows and doors, and to maintain what’s called good sleep hygiene: keep to a regular sleep routine, turn mobile phones off, avoid stimulants, and so on. Sleepwalking can often occur as a result of poor or disrupted sleep.