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The Scenario:
Without a doubt, one of the great things about being a student is summertime. Exams are done, classes are over. And even if you have to work a summer job, everything is a little more relaxed. Ah, those long, lazy, summer days.
Audrey gets her summers off too, but she is a teacher. And for summers, her favorite thing to do is travel. This year she planned a trip to Turkey hoping to see some of the many Roman ruins and swim in the blue Mediterranean. She had her itinerary all figured out. She would fly from New York into Istanbul, visit there for a few days, then travel south to the coast where she would pick up one of those amazing sail boats that take you along the coast, dropping you into little fishing villages only accessible by sea.
Jet lag was always a problem for her. And she dreaded this one more than most because of the long flight. As it turned out, the flight itself was rather easy. But after she arrived, the jet lag was worse than anticipated. She was so tired and spaced out that the first couple of days in Istanbul were a virtual waste.
Questions:
Answer:
For the occasional traveler, jet lag is bitter-sweet. It's a drag to live through, but it's the price you pay for crossing time zones. For the more regular traveler, it's just a drag.
Jet lag occurs when you change time zones rapidly, so that day/night and awake/sleep cycles get thrown off. The body doesn't like this. What it likes, at least for most of us, is regularity. In fact, daylight seems to be an important modulator of mood, alertness, and probably other things we don't understand very well. When the day/night cycle suddenly shifts by a few hours -- usually accompanied by less sleep than normal -- fatigue, loss of alertness, irritability, and difficulty making complex decisions often set in.
What can be done? Many of our members recommended taking melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland tucked deep within the brain. Secretion of melatonin peaks at nighttime and seems to respond to changes in daylight. In some experiments it has been shown to be an inducer of sleep. Hence its popularity. However, there are some reservations about the use of melatonin supplements (discussed in a a recent Ask the Doctor column) to be aware of.
Other member suggestions included drinking lots of fluids during your flight to avoid dehydration, resetting your internal body-clock before departure by incrementally changing your sleep times, or drinking a mixture of tomato juice or V8 with flat ginger ale. Another member finds that sex or a warm bath just before bedtime lets your body relax and know that "everything is all right."
After traveling across time zones, common sense will tell you to adjust as quickly as possible to the local time. Whether you feel like it or not, stay awake during the day and go to bed at night. Taking a sedative during your flight, or on the night of your arrival, to coincide with nighttime at your destination can help if you do not feel tired at the appropriate time. Caffeine intake should be timed carefully to avoid stimulation at nighttime. Alcohol, often taken to "wind down," will initially cause drowsiness but can result in an uncomfortable alertness several hours later if taken in excess.
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