Reducing the effects of jet lag
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We like to think we have control over our bodies, but the opposite is often true. Such is the case with 'circadian desynchrony', a condition more commonly known as jet lag. Exhaustion, headaches, difficulty concentrating, light-headedness, trouble falling asleep or staying asleep; these are common effects of jet lag. They have the power to ruin a vacation or business trip unless you learn how to trick your own body.
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Experimental psychologist John Caldwell has spent most of his career researching the effects of sleep deprivation and sleep restriction, while also studying countermeasures that sleep-deprived people can use to function better. Much of his research was conducted within the military community. Caldwell explains that while our bodies are able to adjust to about one time zone change per day, jet lag sets in when we cross three or more of them because it creates chaos in circadian rhythms (otherwise known as our body clock). That's a fairly new phenomenon, historically speaking. 'People now can fly from New York to Paris in nine, ten hours, whereas in 1923 you did it on a ship and it took you six days to get over to Europe,' Caldwell says. 'We just haven't evolved to the point where we can rapidly change those rhythms, because it's a relatively recent thing.'
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Because of the problems your body has naturally adapting to time-zone changes, you need to manually adjust your body clock, and that means changing your bedtime to be better matched with the destination to which you re traveling. Ranit Mishori, a professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, travels frequently to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. To be ready to work when she arrives, she starts adjusting her bedtime two to five days in advance to match the local time at her destination. That means going to bed earlier when going east and waking up much earlier,' she says. When she returns to the US, she does the same but in reverse.
John Caldwell creates a timetable that includes meetings, bedtimes, and social activities so that he can easily see what time it is at home and at his destination and plan accordingly. 'A lot of times, when you look at that table, right away you're going to see where you're going to have your biggest problems,' he says. If he's just traveling for a quick business trip and will only be gone a couple of days, he avoids gradual adjustment. Instead, he tries to schedule any meetings at a time when he would be awake and focused back home.
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Circadian rhythms are influenced by natural light. While travel may disrupt those rhythms, you can help get them on track by regulating the amount of light that your body encounters, says Pradeep Bollu, associate director of the University of Missouri Health Care Sleep Disorders Center. When traveling east, your biological clock will be behind: ' ... avoiding bright light in the evening can help with advancing our biological clock,' he says. 'Similarly, bright light ... after waking up also will help advance our biological clock to suit the new time zone. When traveling westward, he adds, the biological clock is ahead of the latest time zone. He suggests gravitating toward bright light in the evening, if possible, and exercising to stay awake later and sleep longer.
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One suggestion that is sometimes made is taking the hormone melatonin, which is a substance that is produced every night by the human body and helps you sleep. 'Taking a very small dose helps to recalibrate its release so that it is in sync with the time zone of your destination,' says Kern Singh, a spine surgeon in Chicago with Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush. Singh says he takes five milligrams of melatonin - which you can buy in pill form in supermarkets and many main street stores in the US - on the plane and then again when he lands.
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Having a glass of wine on the plane may sound tempting, but it could negatively impact your sleep, which could worsen jet lag, says Quay Snyder, president and CEO of Aviation Medicine Advisory Service of Centennial, who advises pilots on staying in top condition while in the air. 'It definitely has a sedating effect as far as getting someone to sleep, but it destroys their rapid eye movement (REM) sleep so their actual mental recovery is reduced,' he says. Instead, he says, be sure and have plenty of water so that you stay hydrated while traveling.
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Bruce Stephen Rashbaum, owner and medical director of Capital Center for Travel and Tropical Medicine in the District of Columbia, regularly advises patients on jet lag. He considers prednisone, which is a powerful prescription medication, to be the most effective tool for jet lag recovery. He instructs patients to take the medication when they land, which is typically early in the morning, and again in the late afternoon and the next day. 'It is this simple ritual that works nearly every time,' he says. So if in doubt, you can always ask your doctor for some assistance.
Everyone responds to jet lag differently. For those who suffer, the first week will be the most challenging, but after that, your body should start to recover.
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Question 1 - 7
From the list of headings below choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph.
List of heading
Requesting help from professionals
Types of meals and beverages that help
What not to do on a flight
Symptoms of jet lag
Altering your sleep schedules
Types of exercise to do
A problem of the modem age
A remedy available from ordinary shops
Timing exposure to sunshine