Jet Lag Is Inevitable If You Are A Frequent Flier
Coping with jet lag is not too difficult for people who jet off around the world infrequently, perhaps once or twice a year on holiday or for the odd business trip, but for regular long-haul fliers and aircrews, jet lag frequently brings several health problems which can become virtually permanent.
Long-haul fliers will be more than familiar with the disruption to their pattern of sleep and the insomnia that can result from a long trip, as well as things like irritability, changes in mood, stomach problems and difficulty in handling information. But, for the very frequent flyer these often transient symptoms become a part of everyday life and are habitually joined by menstrual cycle problems for women and even by short-term psychiatric disturbances for some individuals. So how do you go about managing jet lag?
The chief factors that influence the degree of jet lag which you experience, aside from how often you travel, are the distances involved, the direction of travel and your age.
If you regularly travel across just one or two world time zones then any affects will probably be extremely mild. However, as soon as you start crossing more than three time zones, and especially once you get up to frequently traveling across six or more time zones, jet lag symptoms will start to increase significantly.
Jet lag symptoms are also more noticeable if you travel east and affect you less if you fly west. If you fly from London to Singapore on holiday for instance you will experience greater jet lag on arrival in Singapore at the start of your holiday than you will in London when you return.
As a general rule when traveling east you can expect jet lag to last for a few days and a good guide is roughly two thirds of the number of time zones traveled across. For instance, if you travel across six time zones you ahould expect jet lag to affect you for approximately four days. Traveling west jet lag may be expected to last for about half this time.
Another significant element 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 great deal that can be done to help in reducing the symptoms of jet lag.
