Recommendations May Help to Prevent Jet Lag

When travelers become disoriented because of the sunrise, sunset and/or the living habits of a new time zone, the result can be jet lag.

A survey by Upjohn Co. indicated that 90% of the people who suffer jet-lag symptoms were hit by daytime sleepiness and fatigue, 78% couldn’t sleep at night, 69% had trouble concentrating, 66% had slowed reflexes, 50% showed irritability, 47% had upset digestive tracts, 44% were hungry at odd hours and 31% were depressed.

The big question is: What to do about it?

Dr. Michael H. K. Irwin, medical director of the United Nations, offers the following advice:

--Before leaving on a trip, get a good night’s sleep.

--Don’t rush around or do anything at the last minute.

--Try to shift meals to adapt to your destination’s time schedules.

--Break up a very long flight, such as one to the Orient or Australia, with a one-day layover at an intermediate point, such as Hawaii.

Once on the plane, Irwin recommends:

--Drink plenty of water and juices and cut out alcohol, which leads to dehydration and makes it harder to adjust.

--Eat lightly--avoid fried or fatty foods.

--Don’t drink too many carbonated drinks because of gas in the liquid.

--Get up and walk in the aisle.

--Fly during the day so you’ll lose less sleep.

--Don’t take any sedatives or sleep medications. Particularly don’t take medications while drinking alcohol.

On the first day at the destination, Irwin advises:

--Avoid alcohol for the first 24 hours. Drink water and juices.

--Rest by cutting down on business meetings and don’t set up strenuous tours or other kinds of outings.

--Exercise in daylight. Light can get through to the retina, which has a beneficial effect in adjusting.

--Take sleep medication only on the recommendation of a doctor.

--If you’re at a destination for more than a few days, adopt the new local time immediately. Schedule meals, work or touring. Exercise and sleep accordingly.

--If possible, allow two days to adjust before undertaking a rigorous touring schedule or business program.

In addition, the National Institute of Mental Health Consensus Conference on Drugs and Insomnia is advising the use of a short-acting benzodiazepine sleep medication for the first few nights, when it’s important to avoid transient insomnia.

Should Not Cause Drowsiness

A short-acting sleep medication is eliminated from the body quickly and does not cause drowsiness the next day, the institute concluded.

The worst problems for travelers are daytime sleepiness and nighttime insomnia. Also, the worst trips are those that cross many time zones. Jet-lag symptoms are more often severe for those traveling east.

Traveling west lengthens the day, Upjohn said. It’s easier to stay up late the first day and go to sleep at the local time, then keep to local schedules. Traveling east takes away part of the day.

As a result, it’s difficult to fall asleep earlier than one’s normal sleep time and very hard to function the next morning when one would normally be asleep.

Of course, the magnitude of jet lag’s impact depends in part on how far people are traveling and on how well they’ve planned. It’s the body clock that gets out of sync.

Traveling from coast to coast in the United States throws the body off by three hours. Flying to Europe throws it off by at least six hours, while jetting to the Orient can throw it off by as many as 12 hours.