![]() Prepare before you travel: If you’re traveling west, stay up an hour or two later each night to try to shift your sleep schedule.Here are some of the best ways to do that. Now that you better understand what actually causes jet lag, you can take steps to more effectively reduce symptoms, so you can adjust to your new time zone in less time with less struggle. These are all problems caused by your unmoored circadian rhythms. You might have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night or wake up before the sun. This means your internal alarms are not set for the new time zone, so you might not be hungry at dinner or tired when it gets dark. ![]() When you travel to a different time zone, your body gets confused because the sun isn’t rising and setting as it did in your previous time zone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains it succinctly, “Your body’s circadian clock responds to light as a signal to be awake, and dark as a signal to fall asleep.” Your daily schedule is set by your exposure to daylight, such as when you get hungry, when you need to move your bowels, when you’re most alert, when you get tired and other things. The actual cause of jet lag is when your circadian clock, which is set by sunlight, is out of sync with the time zone you’re in. It doesn’t explain why you can get jet lag traveling west - when you get extra hours in your day. Many people think jet lag is merely caused by not getting enough sleep. However, there are things you can do and devices you can buy that can help reduce the severity and duration of jet lag symptoms.īefore determining the best strategy to solve any problem, you first need to understand the source of the trouble. The Mayo Clinic states it takes about “a day to recover for each time zone crossed.” ![]() While these may be troubling issues, again, they are temporary. While jet lag itself is not a concern, the symptoms, such as loss of focus, can lead to poor judgment and serious or even deadly accidents, especially if you’re operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery.īesides the inability to focus and function at your normal level, jet lag can cause fatigue, insomnia, digestive problems, loss of appetite, mood changes, a general feeling of unease or being unwell and other problems. WHAT IS JET LAG?Īccording to the Mayo Clinic, jet lag is a temporary sleep disorder that can affect anyone who quickly travels across multiple time zones. The more time zones you cross, the more your schedule will change and the more help you may need to overcome jet lag. ![]() However, adjusting to daylight saving time only requires a 60-minute shift in your circadian clock, while flying can throw your schedule off by several hours. Jet lag is similar to transitioning in or out of daylight saving time. Details IT IS POSSIBLE TO OVERCOME JET LAG BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |