Every human body has a biological internal body clock that helps humans maintain a sense for the time zone that person is living in. Time zone is different for different places which changes with longitude and latitude of particular place. So, when a person is traveling by plane or jet to different locations the internal body clock takes time come in synchronization with the time zone of that particular place as the rhythm of the internal body clock is set according to particular time zone and its synchronization gets disturbed. Humans develop particular habits according to place they are living in i.e. the time of eating or sleeping these can change drastically according to different time zones.
Another major cause, that a major cause of trouble is for the people who have long or irregular working shift hours which causes potential loss for adapting to different changes in terms of day and night around them, on an average 65% of People who have long working hours have complained for similar symptoms as in jetlag.
A particular person can immediately find that whether the person is suffering from jet lag or not:-
- Irritability
- If a person doesn’t feel like eating
- Stomach upset Feels
- Feels unnecessarily tired
- Feeling somewhat depressed
- Grogginess
- Like dehydrating a lot(or dehydration)
- Uneven sleep patterns
As jetlag is a temporary phenomenon which may vary from person to person across different ages and across different sex. According to a study, it has been found out that younger people have more chances or they are more susceptible to jet lag and so are females .Females have more chances of developing jetlag then their counterpart i.e. males.
For example people travelling from London to Tokyo or vice versa have more chances of developing jetlag as people would have to cut across continent and through different time zones which would have more chances of developing jetlag. As more the distance a person travels and more the time zones are covered more are the chances of developing jetlag. As soon as more than 6 time zones are skipped the length and effects of jetlag start increasing adversely.
Though jetlag can considerably reduce by
- Taking shower in between flights
- Exercising before flight
- Melatonin
- Drinking lots of fluids
Taking shower in between flights
During long flights it is always a better idea to have a shower to freshen up and relax muscles. It helps to recover from jetlag much quickly.
Exercising before flight
A person should try to get as much exercise as much possible so that blood flow remains good.
Melatonin
This is one controversial method to counter jet lag which has always been a topic of debate as if done with even slightest of mistake it could lead to even further worsening of jetlag. It involves manipulating hormones in human body.
Drinking lots of fluids
Drinking lots of fluids is always a good Idea before a flight as it would help fight dehydration, it is important to remember only non-alcoholic drinks should be preferred even more so, drinking plain water should be preferred.
Note
Sleeping pills should not be taken to get rid of jet lag as it would only worsen its effects causing blood clots.
Tags: Sound Sleeping