Overcoming jet lag is fairly easy for people who fly only occasionally, perhaps just a couple of
times a year on vacation or for the occasional business trip, but for regular long-haul fliers and
aircrews, jet lag frequently brings a number of health problems that can become virtually
permanent.
Long-haul fliers will be familiar with the disruption to their pattern of sleep and the insomnia
which can result from a long trip, in addition to such things as changes in mood, irritability,
stomach problems and difficulty in processing information. However, for the very frequent flier
these generally transient symptoms are a part of daily life and are frequently joined by menstrual
cycle problems for women and also by short-term psychiatric problems for some individuals.
The main factors in influencing the degree of jet lag which you experience, apart from how
frequently you travel, are the distances involved, the direction of travel and your age.
If you are regularly traveling across just one or two world time zones then any affects are likely
to be extremely mild. However, as soon as you begin crossing more than three world time zones, and
especially once you start frequently traveling over six or more time zones, symptoms will start to
increase significantly.
The symptoms of jet lag are also much more evident when you are traveling east and affect you less
if you fly west. For instance, if you are traveling from London to Singapore on vacation you will
experience greater jet lag when you arrive in Singapore at the beginning of your holiday than you
will in London when you get home.
As a general rule when you are flying east you can expect that jet lag will last for several days
and a good guide is approximately two thirds of the number of time zones traveled across. For
example, if you fly across six time zones you could expect jet lag to affect you for up to four
days. Traveling west jet lag should be expected to last about half of this time.
Another important factor when it comes to jet lag is age and, as you age, you will find that you are
affected more and more by jet lag.
A true jet lag cure does not exist but there is a lot that you can do to help to reduce jet lag
symptoms.
