Jet lag

What is jet lag?

Your body clock works according to the hours of daylight and the rising and setting of the sun to keep you in-sync with the environment you live in.

When you travel to a different time zone this can be disrupted, causing your body to struggle to adapt. It can be common for you to feel like you need to sleep in the middle of the day, or to feel wide awake at bedtime. You might also feel irritated, or like you’re struggling to concentrate.

Jet lag can also affect your digestive system if your meal times become out of sync with what your body is used to, causing indigestion, nausea and constipation.

Who gets jet lag?

Anyone who travels through different time zones can experience jet lag. The more significant the time zone change, the more disruptive jet lag tends to be. When travelling from Europe to America, for example, the time difference can be between five and ten hours, meaning that it can often be daytime in America when it’s night time in Europe. This can cause your sleep schedule to become disrupted as you get tired earlier than normal.

Jet lag is usually worse when travelling east, because you ‘lose’ time and have to stay awake for longer, which can make it more difficult to adjust ^[1]
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You might also suffer more from jet lag as you age, because you produce less of the sleep hormone ‘melatonin’ as you get older.

How common is jet lag?

Jet lag is very common among people who travel by plane, particularly those who travel east over long distances.

What causes jet lag?

Jet lag is caused when your body’s natural circadian rhythm falls out of sync with your environment. Your circadian rhythm is an internal clock that regulates your hormones to make you feel sleepy or alert at certain times. So when you change time zones, these hormones can become out of sync with the time, making you feel tired during the day and awake at night.

This can cause a range of symptoms, the strength of which often depend on the number of time zones you’ve travelled through, as well as the direction of travel.

What are the symptoms of jet lag?

The main symptoms of jet lag include:

• tiredness and fatigue
• lack of concentration
• memory problems
• difficulty staying awake during the day
• irritability
• difficulty getting to sleep at bedtime

In some cases jet lag can also cause disruption to your digestive system, which can cause indigestion, stomach cramps and constipation.

Some people also report feelings of mild anxiety when they are jet lagged.

Can jet lag lead to other problems?

Although jet lag itself isn’t dangerous, the sleep deprivation associated with it can have an impact on your overall health – leading to disordered sleep and insomnia.

There’s also some evidence to suggest that it can increase your risk of cancer, infertility, and heart disease.^[1]