Jet lag is the worst fear of some air travelers. Many people try to avoid it by adopting different techniques, but most go in vain since there is no prevention. Fear and anxiety leads to this problem. We need to understand it and tackle the fear with planning.

Jet lag can be mainly defined as ‘the symptoms caused due to fatigue and disorientation, resulting due to extensive air travel through different time zones’. Other than this problem, you also face lack of sleep or broken sleep when you reach your destination. It is basically restlessness, something like the confusion a newborn child feels about the phenomena of day and night. It may take days for your body to get adjusted to the time zone. Sometimes the jet lag takes a severe toll when you are on a business tour, as you may not be fresh enough for the important presentations. If you are on a vacation, then it may also ruin your schedule. Another symptom you could experience is fuzziness and confusion and this symptom can cause problems while driving or walking on a road in an unfamiliar location. Jet lag also causes dehydration and this leads to weakness and makes you susceptible to illness.

There are different ways to tackle jet lag. The first way would be to reduce your anxiety and stress, while boarding and landing. You must always reach the airport before the boarding time and make sure you have dealt with all travelling issues to relax and this improves your mood. Stress often triggers jet lag symptoms and leads to tiredness, which indirectly causes weakness. If you do get ill or are already suffering from flu or cold, it would be advisable to postpone the trip and if at all it is unavoidable, then you must always carry along medication.

Some people have a preference time and route for travel. During air travel, you must always drink plenty of liquids such as fresh fruit juices or plain distilled water. By drinking fluids you can avoid dehydration, as it may lead to low blood pressure, nausea, dizziness and weakness. If these symptoms continue, then it may lead to heat stroke, which can lead to heart attack, coma, seizure or even death due to lack of oxygen in the blood. The symptoms of dehydration are dry skin, fatigue and thirst. Prevention is better than cure and so, you must always drink a lot of fluids.

Some people also prefer sleeping to avoid jet lag, but if you can’t sleep naturally and have to take medication to induce sleep then it is advisable to consult a doctor prior to air travel. You can also try earplugs, blindfolds and music or blow up pillows to relax, during the flight. In short you must try all possible ways to relax while in-flight.

You can combat jet lag even while flying, by doing some simple exercises like walking around the cabin or holding your travel bag in a ninety degree position and practicing some biceps curls. You can also perform some simple stretch exercises while you are seated or even relax by reading a book. But while doing these, see to it that you don’t disturb your co-passengers. You need to respect their comfort too.

Keywords: jet lag, travel, insomnia, sleep

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2007 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Jet Lag. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.