Jet lag when traveling: Sleep disorders and fatigue can dampen your desire to vacation. With the right tips, you can stay relaxed even on long-distance trips.
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Jet lag is a disruption of the biorhythms of travelers who cross at least two time zones on a long-haul flight. Pilot Tanja Becker knows that the more travel zones you cross, the worse the effects of jet lag are.
Change in biorhythm
“Jet lag occurs when the so-called internal clock is in a different time zone than the traveler,” explains long-haul pilot Becker. The internal clock is mainly based on daylight, and the time difference in the holiday destination throws it out of rhythm. The hormone melatonin is released at the wrong time and despite daylight at your holiday destination you are tired and lie awake at night. It can take a few days for your internal clock to change.
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Melatonin – the body’s own sleep hormone
Melatonin is known as the body’s sleep hormone. As the opposite of the stress hormone cortisol, it promotes sleep and is important for good sleep. It is released by the body in the dark and thus controls the day-night rhythm.
Jet lag symptoms
The symptoms are varied: travelers most often suffer from sleep problems and daytime fatigue. But loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating or fatigue can also occur. Tanja Becker did her doctorate on the subject of jet lag at the Sleep Medicine Center at the Berlin Charité and knows that digestion can also be affected by jet lag. However, this is individual and can range from constipation to diarrhea depending on the person. Depending on the direction of travel, the symptoms can vary in severity.
To the east, jet lag may last longer.
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Dr. Tanja Becker, pilot
The body copes better with a longer day than with a shorter one. Therefore, the body’s adaptation takes one and a half to twice as long after flights to the east as after flights to the west, says Becker.
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Prepare biorhythm
You cannot avoid jet lag per se. However, Tanja Becker recommends preparing your body the day before departure by shifting your internal clock by an hour. This means getting up an hour earlier than usual for flights heading east and an hour later if flying west. According to Becker, the most important thing is to change your biorhythm, i.e. adapt your sleeping and eating habits to the destination country.
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Behavior on the plane
Whether it makes sense to sleep on a plane depends on whether the flight is during the day or at night. Tanja Becker knows that it is better to stay awake on a day flight.
Take a maximum nap of 90 minutes.
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Dr. Tanja Becker, pilot
When you sleep for a long time, the body is suggested that it is night. And that can disrupt your internal clock. An eye mask and earplugs will help you switch off more quickly.
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Overcome jet lag
Daylight is an important factor in overcoming jet lag. Even if tiredness prevails, travelers should get straight out of the holiday destination and into the daylight. Stimulating activities such as physical exercise or social contacts are important.
With regular meals and a daily routine that is adapted to the new time zone, the body can adapt more quickly. Food containing protein can also help you stay awake longer, while food containing carbohydrates tends to make you more tired.
Above all, it is important to pay attention to sleep hygiene.
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Dr. Tanja Becker, engineer for aviation systems technology
The best way to reduce sleep disorders is to use proven remedies such as lavender. Taking melatonin can help alleviate symptoms, but only if taken at the right time. Otherwise it can actually prolong jet lag.
Tanja Becker emphasizes how important it is to adapt to the day-night rhythm of the destination country as quickly as possible. And to avoid making jet lag worse, travelers should avoid too much caffeine and alcohol.
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