Physiological processes of all living beings like animals and plants work on a 24-hour rhythm, one complete cycle per day. We call it our "body clock". When you pass through a number of time zones in a short period of time, say from Houston to New York, your body clock loses its sync. It cannot adjust to the destination's daylight-darkness cycle quickly enough. The result is that you feel disoriented or jet-lag.
This disorientation can cause a person to be irritable, forgetful and tends to lose their concentration easily. The person may suffer from mild depression, disturbed sleep pattern and loss of appetite. Occasionally the person may suffer from dehydration and develop swollen or uncomfortable feet.
You can become jet lagged when you travel across one or more time zones, not simply because you have spent more time on journey or you have traveled a long distance. A journey from Frankfurt to New York may cause jet lag because it goes across multiple time zones. And yet jet lag is not experienced after a journey from Frankfurt to Johannesburg because it is within the same time zone. Long journeys within the same time zones may give you cramps but not jet lag.
Jet lag does not affect all people all the time nor is its severity. The elderly seem to suffer much less from jet lag as compared to the younger ones. Also it seems to affect women of reproducing age group more often. It depends upon a person's physiological adjustability. If you know you are prone to suffer from jet lag here are some of the precautions you can take that will cut down on the severity.
Before the airplane ride try to be relaxed and avoid any extra mental stress. Having a good night's sleep before starting on the journey is essential. On the aircraft drink plenty of fluids, preferably water. Do not drink too much alcohol. While in the air walk up and down the aisle a few times. Do a little stretching exercise. If you can manage. To avoid swelling of feet, remove your shoes and stretch your legs and wiggle your toes.
Many "anti jet lag" preparations are available on market; act on them with extreme caution. Some people suggest taking sleeping pills to get over jet lag; this may, however, have rather unpleasant consequences. Anti jet lag diets are available on the market; but efficacy apart, it is not a very practical solution; it is so cumbersome to carry diet around. An OTC (over the counter) homeopathic drug which said to be effective and it is free of side effects.
Melatonin is an anti jet lag drug available OTC except in places such as UK where it has been completely banned. You have to start taking it at specific times for a number of days starting with a few days prior to the journey. Its anti jet lag claims, however, are not really supported by research and on the contrary it may lead to worsening of the jet lag symptoms. In UK it has been banned.
In some cases the jet lag condition may persist for many days. Experts suggest that the recovery rate that you can expect from jet lag is "one day per time zone." Sleep well, eat a sensible diet, relax, and get some moderate exercise are the simplest cures for rapid recovery. How fun does this sound? A vacation is supposed to be a respite from all those "sensible" things. Try to whoop it up anyway. Bon Voyage!
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