Jet Lag! Those two words conjure up that debilitating feeling of tiredness and
confusion that often overtakes us after a long journey, especially across the ocean.
It can rob you of the first one, two or even more days of your overseas visit. If you
are on vacation, you lose a precious chunk of your well-earned time off; if you are
on business, you could blow an important deal because your brain wasn’t
functioning up to par.
Jet lagwho needs it?
Nobodybut everybody gets it. A Conde Naste survey showed 93% of longhaul
travellers do. A survey from New Zealand showed 96% of international flight
attendants do.
Jet lagwhat causes it?
The biggest cause of jet lag is crossing time zones, particularly from west to east
although it also happens in the opposite direction.
The atmosphere in jet aircraft contributes in two ways. First, cabin pressure
results in air that many times more pressurized that what most of us are
accustomed to on the ground. Second, the air is often recirculated in the cabin and
becomes stale. This makes you tired and can even cause headaches.
The majority of adults drink alcohol at some point in a long flight, and flying
increases the effects of alcohol on the body by about 200-300%. So if you tend to
feel drowsy after a couple of glasses of wine at home, multiply that effect by three
for each glass you have in-flight and it’s not surprising you feel sleepy!
Sitting for the eight to fifteen hours it can take to cross one of the world’s larger
oceans doesn’t help, because it puts extra pressure on your stomach at a time when
you are probably eating more often than usual in that period of timethat’s because
they keep feeding you to pass the time!
Altogether, it would be surprising if we didn’t get jet lag on overseas flights!
Jet lagwhat can we do about it?
The time we spend before our flight can have an effect. How often do you run
around at the speed of light trying to get everything done before you leave on
vacation? Then you have to packbut before that you must make sure you have
selected all your wardrobe items and that they are laundered. Quite often you are
doing things until late at night, and you don’t even get the amount of sleep you
usually take. All these activities add to your stress level, which in turn adds to the
effects of jet lag.
Solution: plan ahead as much as possible, enlist the help of family members, go to
bed at a reasonable time and get a good night’s sleep.
Many transatlantic flights, for example, are overnight. You leave in the early
evening, so you don’t eat dinner before you leave. By the time the flight takes off
and the attendants are ready to serve, you end up eating dinner at what is normally
close to your bed time. Most people don’t sleep well during the flight, and to make
matters worse, when you land on the other side of the ocean you have virtually lost
five hours out of your normal sleep time.
Solution: try to take one of the growing number of daytime flights. Yes, it’s the same
amount of flying time, but experts agree the jet lag effect can be much less.
Who hasn’t felt dried out during a long flight? It’s the dry air on the aircraft.
However, drinking alcohol, caffeine or sugary fruit drinks doesn’t help, and may add
to the jet leg effect.
Solution: Drink lots of water, preferably the bottled kind. Bring your own in your in-
flight luggage.
Lack of exercise and sitting in an unnaturally cramped position (especially in the
limited seating space in Economy Class) add to the misery of jet lag.
Solution: learn some exercises you can do while sitting. Twisting and stretching
exercises can help keep your joints limber. Regardless of how silly you may feel, do
get up and walk up and down the aisle a few times over the hours. It will help keep
your feet from swelling, and may decrease the effects of jet lag.
Don’t let jet lag spoil your tripuse all these techniques and fight back!
Helen Wilkie is a joyful traveler, who likes to pass along her travel tips to others who
share her love of travel. Send a blank e-mail to hwilkie-170241@autocontactor.com
and Helen will send you her free 7-part e-course “Seven surprising, fun ways to see
the world”!