Nov 3rd 2008 Jet Lag Is Inevitable If You Are A Frequent Flier
Dealing with jet lag is not too hard for those of us who jet off around the world infrequently, perhaps once or twice a year on holiday or for the occasional business trip, but for aircrews and regular long-haul fliers, jet lag frequently brings several health problems that can become almost permanent.
Long-haul travelers will be more than familiar with the disruption to their sleep pattern and the insomnia which can be produced by a long trip, in addition to such things as irritability, changes in mood, stomach problems and difficulty in handling information. But, for the very frequent flyer these generally transient symptoms become a part of everyday life and are regularly joined by menstrual cycle problems for women and also by short-term psychiatric disturbances for some people. So how do you go about managing jet lag?
The major factors in influencing the degree of jet lag experienced, aside from how often you travel, are the distances involved, the direction of travel and your age.
If you frequently travel across just one or two world time zones then any affects will probably be extremely mild. However, once you begin crossing more than three world time zones, and especially once you begin frequently traveling over six or more time zones, jet lag symptoms will begin to increase markedly.
Jet lag symptoms are also much more noticeable when you are traveling east and affect you less when flying west. For instance, if you are traveling from London to Singapore on vacation you will experience more jet lag on arrival in Singapore at the start of your holiday than you will in London when you get home.
As a general rule when traveling east you can expect that jet lag will last for several days and a good guide is roughly two thirds of the number of time zones traveled across. For instance, if you cross six time zones you could expect jet lag to affect you for approximately four days. If you are traveling west jet lag should be expected to last for 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 increasingly affected by jet lag.
There is no such thing as a true jet lag cure but there is a lot that can be done to help in reducing the symptoms of jet lag.
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