Jet Lag

Flying across multiple time zones disrupts your body’s circadian rhythm, leading to sleep problems and other symptoms which fall under the condition known as "jet lag."

Symptoms of jet lag often include:

• Insomnia
• Waking early
• Excessive sleepiness
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Digestive problems like constipation or diarrhea
• Muscle aches
• Difficulty concentrating

Younger travelers and female travelers are more susceptible to jet lag, while some travelers are not affected much.

As a general guideline, the recovery rate from jet lag is one day per time zone traveled. So if you live in New York and fly to Ghana (five hours ahead of New York), it will take you about five days to recover from the jet lag.

To recover from jet lag:

• Drink plenty of water before, during and after your flight.

• Try to sleep on the plane if it's nighttime in the host country

• Adjust to the local day/night schedule immediately

• Try not to sleep until nighttime, no matter how tired you are

• Exercise daily (during daylight hours, especially early morning)

• Avoid caffeine and alcohol

• Melatonin Supplements (from the CDC website):

  Although no results from rigorous studies of safety or dosage of melatonin are available, limited evidence suggests melatonin is safe and well tolerated, and doses of 0.5-5 mg may promote sleep and decrease jet lag symptoms in travelers crossing five or more time zones. Melatonin should be taken at the desired bedtime, beginning 3-4 days before departure if possible. Although melatonin is generally considered safe, adverse effects such as sedation or a disorienting “rocking” feeling have been reported. The safe use of melatonin in persons with epilepsy, who take warfarin or other oral anticoagulants and in children has been questioned. These travelers should discuss the potential for adverse effects with their physicians prior to its use.