overview
Jet lag, also known as jet lag disorder, is a temporary sleep problem that can affect anyone who travels quickly across multiple time zones.
Your body has its own internal clock (circadian rhythms) that signals your body when to stay awake and when to sleep. Jet lag occurs because your body clock is always in sync with your home time zone and not the time zone you have traveled to. The more time zones you travel, the more likely you are to experience jet lag. Jet lag disorder Treatment in Hyderabad
Jet lag can lead to fatigue, malaise, alertness, and gastrointestinal problems during the day. Jet lag is temporary, but it can significantly affect the comfort of your vacation or business trip. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent or minimize jet lag. Jet lag disorder Treatment in Hyderabad
symptom
The symptoms of jet lag can vary. You may experience a single symptom or you may experience more than one. Symptoms of jet lag can include:
- Sleep disorders – such as insomnia, early awakening, or excessive sleepiness
- Daytime sleepiness
- Difficulty concentrating or functioning at the usual level
- Stomach problems, constipation, or diarrhea
- A general feeling of discomfort
- Mood swings
The reasons
A disturbance in your daily rhythm
Jet lag can occur when you cross two or more time zones. Jet lag occurs because crossing multiple time zones no longer synchronizes your internal clock (circadian rhythms) that regulate your sleep-wake cycle with the time in your new location.
For example, leaving New York on a 4pm flight. Tuesday and arrival in Paris on Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. Your internal clock always thinks it’s 1:00 a.m. This means that as soon as the Parisians wake up, you will be ready to go to bed.
And because it takes a few days for your body to adjust, your sleep-wake cycle, along with most other body functions such as hunger and bowel habits, stays out of sync with the rest of Paris.
Risk factors
Some of the factors that increase the likelihood of jet lag include:
- Number of crossed time zones. The more time zones you travel, the more likely you are to be jet lagged.
- Fly east. You may find it harder to fly east if you “waste” time than fly west if you are gaining time.
- Be a frequent traveler. Pilots, flight attendants and business travelers are most likely to suffer from jet lag.
- Be an older person. Older adults may take more time to recover from jet lag than younger adults.
preventions
A few basic steps can help prevent or reduce its effects:
- Arrive early. If you have an important meeting or other event that you need to be in good shape about, try arriving a few days early so your body can adjust.
- Get plenty of rest before your trip. Starting without sleep makes jet lag worse.
- Gradually adjust your schedule before you set off. If you are traveling east, try to go to bed an hour earlier each night a few days before you leave. Go to bed for a few nights one night later if flying west. If possible, eat your meals closer to the time you will be eating them at your destination.
- Adjust exposure in bright light. Since exposure is one of the main influences on your body’s circadian rhythm, regulating exposure can help you adapt to your new location.
In general, evening exposure will help you adjust to a time zone later than usual (traveling west), while morning exposure can help you adjust to an earlier time zone (moving east) more quickly. Jet lag disorder Treatment in Hyderabad
