In these entire examples, the ability to minimize the effect of jet lag might very well mean the different between success of failure, winning or losing, life or death. Because three out of four travelers who cross three times zones or more have significant symptoms of jet jag an understanding of its causes and of ways to remedy it is very important.

Tips for Minimizing Jet Lag

1. Try to anticipate the change to minimize jet jag. Over several nights before your trip, move your sleeping and eating schedule toward the time in your destination. Do this gradually, you don’t have to do it completely, but any move that you make approximating the new time schedule will minimize the effects of jet lag. For example, if you will be traveling from North America to Europe, advance the time at which you retire at night and waken the next morning prior to departure. Begin by advancing the time you go to bed by twenty minutes or half an hour, and do this each night for several nights.
2. Try not to arrive at your destination sleep deprived. If possible, sleep well the night before you travel and this could be minimizes your jet jag problem. If the flight takes place during your usual sleep time, do your best to sleep on the airplane.
3. Try to drink lots of fluid during the flight. Dehydration makes it more difficult to adjust to a new time schedule and often the cause of jet jag. Avoid alcohol because it alters the sleep pattern. Avoid caffeine and other stimulant containing beverages because these only serve to confuse your sleep wake cycle further.
4. If you came to attend an important meeting or a performance, or you must be at your best for whether reason, there is no substitute for arriving several days early to acclimatize, or at least to minimize the effects of jet lag. Arrange the meeting for a time that suits your sleep wake cycle. If you fly overnight from North American to
   Europe and attend a meeting at 10.00 the next morning, your body and your mind will be sleep.
5. Whenever you arrive, switch to the new time right away. Go outside and get some sunshine, as bright daylight is one of the best time cues. Adopt new mealtimes and sleeping hours quickly. Jet lag symptoms last longer in people who stay inside, in their dark hotel rooms, than in people who are outside in natural light.
6. Though there is still some debate, most studies agree that changes in diet do not help to minimize jet lag symptoms.
7. If you must sleep on arrival, sleep only a short time, two hours or less.
8. If you are traveling through time zones very quickly or through several time zones in a very short time, sometimes it’s better not to shift zones at all, but simply to keep your cycle on home time.
9. If all else fails, using a short acting hypnotic for a short period may help reset your sleep wake cycle.
10. A promising possibility is a hormone called melatonin. It’s produced by the pineal gland in the base of your brain exclusively at night. In experiments, the hormone was given in tablet from and literally tricked the body into altering its internal clock.

Every year, over 850 million people around the world, in twenty-five countries, have jet lag thrust upon them when they switch their clocks to daylight saving time. Studies have shown that the adjustment takes most people about a week, and has significant effects on mood, performance, and accident rates.

The springtime, or forward, shift is more difficult than the delaying autumnal shift because the inherent sleep wake cycle adjusts better to a lengthening of the day, since the cycle itself is slightly longer than twenty four hours. As might be expected, there is increased irritability on awakening during the adjustment week, particularly in spring.

Most people feel less alert, less calm, and less well rested. The incidence of motor vehicle accidents in increased by almost 8 percent in the week after the spring shift. In contrast, after the autumn shift, most people feel they have benefited from the extra hour of sleep, they are calmer, and there is no significant change in the accident rate.

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