The Story of Sleep by Daniel A. Barone & LAWRENCE A. ARMOUR

Author:Daniel A. Barone & LAWRENCE A. ARMOUR
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2022-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

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Jet lag, a relatively recent phenomenon in human history, has existed only since the advent of flight travel. The first known use of the term was in 1965. While not really a disorder, it can be unpleasant. As a rule, it takes roughly a day for our bodies to get realigned for every time zone we travel through by plane.

If you travel one time zone away—say, a flight from New York to Chicago—it would take one night for you to get back to your normal circadian rhythm (see “Circadian rhythm”). If you travel to Europe, which is about five or six hours ahead of New York, it may take a week or so before you’re adjusted to the new time period. And while you’re there, your brain and body may be completely out of sync. You may be tired in the daytime and activated at night, which could have consequences for work, fun, or whatever you’re doing.

There are ways to treat jet lag that include utilizing sunlight in the morning and melatonin at night. The traveler would start by taking melatonin at 9:00 p.m. the first night, and then he or she would wake up at 6:00 a.m. and get some sunlight. Night 2: he or she takes melatonin at 8:30 p.m., wakes up at 5:30 a.m., and then gets some sunlight. For sunlight, I recommend that people go outside for roughly twenty minutes, not staring at the sun but just being in the sun (even on a cloudy day). When they get sunlight in the morning, they’re shutting off melatonin and telling their body this is the time to be awake. There are also great online resources to further help (see below).

Because of jet lag, you probably shouldn’t be doing anything significantly important the first or second day after your flight. Depending on what time you land and what you have planned for the day, it’s probably best to hold off if you have an important meeting or to wait at least a few days, so you can be at your best.

Jet Lag Rooster (jetlagrooster.com) is a program that guides you in ways to shift your body clock before and during a plane flight in order to reduce or prevent jet lag. It creates an individual plan suggesting the best times for exposure to bright light (sunlight) and melatonin. Research suggests that shifting your body clock before departing can sometimes prevent jet lag completely. The program is free and recommended by the Center for Disease Control.

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