Can You Reduce The Effect Of Jet Lag On Your Vacation Flight?

Posted by Dorothy Yamich 26 October, 2009

Numerous medical experts have found that passengers on commercial flights usually experience a worse bout of jet lag when flying to their holiday destinations from east to west. Usually, the more time zones their air flights cross when they travel from east to west, the more severe the symptoms of jet lag will be. But, airline passengers will only experience a milder bout of jet lag when their air flight is going from west to east.

Airline passengers can fly north and south, or south to north, for thousands of miles without experiencing jet lag. But as soon as the pilot of the airplane starts flying in an east to west direction and crosses more than one or two time zones, they can experience jet lag.

Airline passengers will not usually experience the symptoms of jet lag until they exit the plane at their vacation destination. That is the time when the passengers’ biological clocks will start to make internal adjustments inside their bodies to coincide more closely with the local time at their destination. If they travel across one, or even two time zones, their bodies can usually adjust very quickly. However, if an airline passenger is in poor health or not feeling well before the flight, jet lag can compound the problem. In general, you should allow one day to recover for every time zone your air flight crosses.

The following suggestions may help you lessen the effects of jet lag when you fly.

Try to catch a flight that arrives at your vacation destination in daylight hours. Immediately fit in with the new time zone and do not go to bed. If you feel tired and want to take a short snooze, do it in a well lighted place.

In the evening, sleep in a darkened room as the darkness will help prepare your brain for sleep.

You should also avoid looking at television or computer screens as they are bright and have high frequencies that can easily over-stimulate your brain.

Do not consume alcohol or any drinks such as coffee and soda that contain caffeine until your symptoms of jet lag wear off, as it can disrupt your sleep.

To help you adjust to the time zone at your destination, you may want to consider taking a melatonin tablet or capsule (as many air travelers do) in the early evening (your time). You might still have to take a melatonin for the next three or four evenings in a row before you go to bed in this new location to help you readjust your biological clock. If you not taken melatonin before, you should ask your doctor or local pharmacist for more information in regards to the suggested dosage.

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