How Does Jet Lag Affect the Body

The fashionable word jetlag entered our everyday life after we began to fly en masse to distant countries. Now in just a few hours you can move several thousand kilometers. And such a rapid shifting from one time zone to another always affects your well-being. We will figure out what this is connected with and how to prepare for long-distance travel.

Our body has its own internal rhythms, which are associated with changes in metabolic processes. The biochemical basis is associated with a change in the regulatory activity of the hypothalamus, which gives commands to the endocrine system. How does the body understand that it is time to rebuild metabolic processes? By light changes in the surrounding space. Morning sunlight has certain characteristics. It affects the hypothalamus and the speed of various internal processes changes along the chain. Some speed up, some slow down.

It takes time for the body to adapt to the new rhythm of life, and sometimes quite a lot. Up to a week. This period is fraught with a number of difficulties, in particular, you may encounter sleep disturbance, fatigue, lethargy, and a decrease in concentration. We’ve got an interesting way to increase your concentration: Go on tonybet.com to find the best sports events to bet on. You’ll enjoy it and your brain will be effectively focused!

How Does Jet Lag Occur?

The deterioration of well-being when changing time zones is due to the fact that the internal biological clock does not have time to adjust to the characteristics of daylight hours at a new place of residence. Because of this, the general condition may worsen, the body’s resistance to viral diseases may decrease, and chronic diseases may worsen in some. That is why many get sick on vacation!

The severity of jet lag depends on several factors.

• Number of time zones crossed. The more of them, the longer the body will recover after the flight. We adapt to two crossed time zones (flight about 3 hours) within 1-2 days. And if there are more such belts (from 5 hours), then we will experience jet lag for at least 5 days.
• Sunlight. They regulate the internal biological clock. If the arrival falls on the day, and according to your circadian rhythms, the body’s resistance to viral diseases decreases, you have a night and you, drawing the curtains, go to bed, the jet lag will be more difficult.
• Flight direction. Change of time zones in the direction of the east is more difficult to transfer than to the west. There are no exact explanations for this phenomenon. There are only hypotheses that this is due to the physiological characteristics of brain cells.
• The frequency of time zones changes. The more often you fly, the more likely you are to experience heavy jet lag. Alas, it is impossible to get used to constant movement.
• Age. Older people and children under 5 years of age adapt to the new time zone much longer.

How to Reduce Jet Lag

To minimize the risks and consequences of long flights, you need to pay attention to preparing for the trip, ensure yourself maximum comfort and safety during the journey, and also properly organize your day in the new time zone upon arrival.

How to Prepare For a Flight

Talk to your doctor about taking melatonin. If you have already experienced difficult adaptation, this drug can alleviate the situation. The doctor will select the appropriate dosage, time and duration of administration.

Hit the road refreshed. On the eve, do not load yourself with work, do not attend parties and do not abuse alcohol. It is advisable to sleep well, go in for sports or go take a bath.

Change the mode a couple of days before the trip. Fly east – go to bed an hour earlier, west – an hour later. Also change the time of eating – an hour in one direction or the other.

Pay attention to the brightness of the light. More intensive lighting in the evening will help to adapt to the western time zone, and in the morning – to the eastern one. The more light, the less melatonin is secreted, which means that sleepiness will decrease during these hours.

When buying tickets, coordinate the time of departure and arrival. It is best to depart during the day and arrive at your destination during daylight hours. Or vice versa – departure and arrival at night to immediately go to bed.

On a note! Avoid coffee during the flight. Caffeine brings turmoil and circadian rhythms that go astray anyway.

What to Do After the Flight

Adjust to the time zone mode. If you arrived at night, go to bed, if during the day, and you really want to relax, be patient. If you feel sleepy so that it is unbearable, lie down to take a nap for 20-30 minutes. “Before such a short sleep, drink a cup of coffee,” adds Ilya Krossenberg. “This simple trick will keep you from falling into a longer sleep.”

Don’t avoid sunlight. If you arrive in a new time zone during the day, do not sit indoors. Go for a walk! This will greatly facilitate adaptation.

Drink plenty of water. Dehydration exacerbates all the symptoms of jet lag. Two liters of water a day is one of the most effective and simple ways to minimize its manifestations.

Remember, evolution did not prepare us for jet lag. It is impossible to immediately turn the biological clock in just ten hours of flight. This happens gradually. But it is in our power to minimize the manifestations of jet lag with the help of simple, but very effective actions.