When you arrive at your destination after a long flight, sometimes the first thing you can think of is sleeping off your jet lag. Feeling a tad on the tired side is not necessarily the greatest way to begin a vacation. No exploring of the city or town or sampling of the local cuisine. Save that for the following day when your senses are functioning at a more normal level. Dehydration and loss of appetite, headaches, fatigue, nausea and insomnia are some of the more common symptoms of jet lag. Or to give it its more scientific/formal name 'desynchronosis,' a physiological condition that is caused by changes in the circadian rhythm. Although usually associated with transmeridian flights (crossing time zones), the effects can also be felt as a result of shift work, daylight saving time or altered day length. In extreme cases, symptoms can extend to irrationality and mild depression. Preventing the onset of jet lag varies from person to person but the generally held wisdom goes that adjusting your body clock to that of your destination before traveling can help. The root cause of jet lag is the quality of the air in the cabin: there is approximately 20-25 percent less oxygen when you fly compared to normal. A lack of oxygen impairs both physical and mental performance. To stop the onset, try adjusting your watch to the time at your destination as soon as you board the plane. However, be warned, this is not advised for those who are on regular medication. Sleeping on arrival, even if you might feel like you need to, will not aid your body to readjust to your new country quickly. It is better to expose yourself to sunlight as it has been proven that bright light can help reset circadian rhythms. Adjusting your eating and sleeping habits as soon as possible will reduce the effects of jet lag and allow you to function almost as usual from the beginning (or almost) of your vacation. Amira Ahmed, a 24-year-old Cairene, adopts a relaxed approach to the subject and does not have a special strategy for coping. Experts agree that breaking up a long-haul flight with a stopover is advisable, but Amira claims that an 8 or 10 hour transit time actually made the effects worse. Traveling from Cairo to New York is harder, she claims. "You end up arriving half a day earlier than you left, so you have about seven hours added to your normal day. Amira admits to being sleep-deprived beforehand due to last-minute packing and being excited and on a natural high. Thankfully, the return flight leaves her waking up at 7am for a week afterwards, definitely not as painful as the outbound flight. Claire Crawford, 26, from London says she often feels more tired than usual after a long flight, which usually causes irritability. She finds it more difficult traveling from east to west because the time difference means that you have to stay awake for longer than normal. "For example, when traveling from the UK to Peru in 2005, my sister and I took an early morning flight from London. The flight lasted around 13 hours but because of the time difference - 7 hours - we landed in Lima mid-afternoon, making it a very long day! she commented. Claire has a set way of dealing with jet lag: she tries to sleep on the plane, regardless of the time of the flight, and then gets straight into the pattern of her destination country when she arrives. After arriving in Peru, they made an effort to stay awake until about 10 pm, "it makes the transition across time zones much easier if you can adapt quickly. For people who are traveling for work, there are certain types of mild sleeping tablets that can be taken for a few days to help adjust your body clock. Natural remedies such as avoiding caffeine and alcohol on the flight and taking ear plugs and an eye mask on board so that you can sleep may be the best ways of reducing jet lag. If you have slightly more time and money at your disposal, suggest to your boss arriving a day earlier than strictly necessary for that all-important business meeting. So for an altogether more pleasant vacation all that is required is a bit of forward planning.
