Jet Lag: What It Is and How to Beat It

Jet lag is a common issue that many people experience when traveling long distances, causing feelings of confusion and tiredness. Whether you travel often or are going on a special trip, knowing how to reduce the impact of jet lag and improve your quality of sleep while traveling is crucial for a smooth journey.

Understanding Jet Lag: Sleep Disorders While Traveling

Jet lag is a sleep disorder related to our circadian rhythm, which is disrupted when we travel rapidly across different time zones. Our body clock, guided by signals like light and darkness, controls our sleep patterns, making us feel awake during the day and tired at night. But, traveling through time zones quickly throws off this synchronization, causing issues such as feeling sleepy during the day, having trouble sleeping at night, experiencing fatigue, and cognitive difficulties.

The severity of your symptoms may increase as you cross more time zones. Adapting to a different time zone is typically more challenging when traveling east compared to traveling west. It is believed that your body requires approximately one day to adapt to the local time for each time zone you cross.

While jet lag can affect anyone, pilots, flight attendants, and frequent business travelers often experience jet lag more frequently due to their extensive travel schedules. Some data suggest jet lag symptoms may be more severe and may last longer in older people.

Emerging evidence even suggests that jet lag can precipitate mood disturbances, with more depressive episodes after westward travel and manic episodes after eastward travel.

Strategies for Reducing Jet Lag Symptoms

Fortunately, several strategies can help minimize the impact of jet lag. Talk to a sleep doctor to determine if any of these options are right for you:

1. Keep your home schedule: Sticking to your regular sleep-wake schedule, particularly for brief trips, can help reduce jet lag symptoms by allowing your body to maintain its accustomed rhythm.

2. Use bright light:  Bright light is an important cue that can affect the timing of your circadian rhythms. For example, exposure to bright light in the morning may help advance your sleep-wake schedule before you travel east. Conversely, inappropriately timed exposure to light and darkness during and immediately after travel can increase jet lag symptoms.

3. Adjust your sleep schedule: You can help your body prepare for travel by adjusting your sleep schedule before your trip. For example, you can shift your sleep schedule earlier for a few nights before you travel east. Consider using an app, such as Timeshifter, to help you adjust your sleep schedule when traveling.

4. Take melatonin: Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Taking melatonin at bedtime for a few nights after your arrival may help you adjust to a new time zone when traveling east. Melatonin may not be helpful when traveling west less than 12 time zones.

5. Consume caffeine: Caffeine may help improve alertness and reduce daytime symptoms of jet lag, but it also can disrupt your sleep at night.

Apart from these tactics, make sure to get sufficient sleep the nights before your journey, steer clear of alcohol on your flight, increase your exposure to natural light upon reaching your destination, and engage in physical activity before and after your trip to better cope with jet lag.

Ready to Beat Jet Lag and Take Back Your Quality of Sleep?

Jet lag doesn’t have to derail your travel plans—or your well-being. With the right strategies and a bit of preparation, you can reset your internal clock, stay energized, and make the most of your trip. But if you find yourself constantly struggling to bounce back after travel or suspect a deeper sleep issue, it may be time to speak with a specialist.

At Comprehensive Sleep Medicine Associates (CSMA), our team is here to help you understand your sleep patterns and create solutions tailored to your needs—whether you’re crossing time zones or just trying to get through your workweek. Contact CSMA today to schedule a consultation and start sleeping smarter, wherever life takes you.