Jetlag – can it damage your health?

Anyone that has ever travelled through more than one time zone has likely experienced jetlag.  Your body struggles to adapt to the change in time and you might find yourself miserable during this process.  Everyone experiences jetlag differently. Some people have very little trouble adjusting while others struggle for multiple days.  During this time a person can experience a number of symptoms related to jetlag. The symptoms can be rather frustrating.

Flying rocks, but jet lag is terrible – can it make you ill?

Say you fly from New York to London.  When you land it will be several hours later than what your body believes it to be.  It could be time to go to bed, but you may be completely wide-awake. It could be first thing in the morning and you might feel like you could fall asleep standing up.  One of the odd things about jetlag is that many people experience more symptoms when they fly east than when they fly west.  Gaining a few hours in the day can have limited impact on your life but when you lose a few hours, be prepared for your body to react.

The most likely symptoms you can expect to feel from jetlag include insomnia, fatigue, and irritability.  It is common to experience headaches and anxiety and even more severe symptoms like diarrhoea and constipation.  Many people are surprised to know that the last two symptoms can be cause by jetlag.  Your body adjusts to a bathroom schedule and when you divert from this schedule constipation or diarrhoea can occur.

Jetlag can give you insomnia, and make you very grumpy

Jetlag can have a number of side effects that can be rather annoying. Some are even quite serious.  Many frequent travellers wonder if repeated exposure to jetlag can have an ongoing effect on one’s physical well being.  Numerous studies have been conducted with some suggesting that jetlag is only a temporary symptom of time change, while other studies point towards more serious consequences.

One such study published in Current Biology documents an experiment with mice that were exposed to time change simulations.  The results were rather interesting and noted that a number of the mice died as a result of the time change simulation.  The study also suggested that older mice were more prone to experiencing issues related to the time change than younger mice.  Can this be translated to suggest that humans might shorten their lifespan if they are exposed to jetlag?

Can flying age you? This was a 22 year old woman

It is probably unlikely that anyone has ever died after getting off of a long flight with the cause of death determined to be jetlag.  The real issue seems to be what happens if a person repeatedly takes long flights across time zones.  Do the effects of jetlag become worse with each flight or is the person better able to adapt to the time changes with experience?  Unlike mice, there does not seem to be any particular group of people that experience jetlag more than another.  Anyone can experience the symptoms associated with jetlag.

There is no way to say for certain at this point in time whether human lives are truly impacted in the long term by jetlag. It certainly makes you think our bodies are impacted in some form.  Travelling by air is still relatively new. The long-term effects are unlikely to be truly understood by researchers for a number of years to come.  For the most part, anyone that travels only occasionally has nothing to worry about.  For those frequent fliers out there, however, if you experience horrible jetlag plan a trip to your doctor’s office.

See a doctor if you feel horrible jetlag

Speaking with your physician is a great way to better understand how your body reacts to jetlag.  Your doctor might want to perform a few tests to be sure that you are healthy.  It is possible that your doctor might be able to recommend a medication or give you a few tips on how to best deal with jetlag so it does not impact your life to such a great degree.

For those that want to avoid jetlag there are a few things that you can try.  Nobody wants to start off their vacation poorly so it might be a good idea to attempt a few anti-jetlag measures!  About a week before you are to fly, gradually adjust your clocks so they will be closer to the actual time at your destination.  Just be sure you are not late for work or that you leave work too early!  This gradual change in the time will help your body prepare so that the initial shock to your body will be greatly diminished.

Before you go away, try adjusting your bodyclock and hour at a time

When you actually board your plane, go ahead and change your watch to match the time at the destination.  Monitor your watch and try to match your behaviours with that of your destination’s time.  If you typically eat at noon, make sure you eat when your watch says noon on the plane.  If you go to sleep at a specific time, make sure you try to sleep at that specific time according to your watch.

Anyone that has ever flown will tell you that the air on a plane can be a bit dry.  During the course of a long flight, the dry air can actually cause a person to become dehydrated.  Dehydration can make jet lag considerably worse. Anyone suffering from dehydration in flight is more likely to feel common symptoms that are associated with jetlag.  To avoid this problem be sure to drink enough water during your flight.  Also keep in mind that drinks like coffee and alcohol can dehydrate your body as well, so you might want to avoid consuming these beverages altogether.  Plain water works best.

Coffee – it’s really nice, but will dehydrate you

Many people think that taking sleeping pills on a flight is a great idea.  That will allow them to rest so that when they land at their destination in the morning, they will be wide-awake and ready for the day.  Unfortunately, sleeping pills can cause dehydration and thus jet lag. Fliers have also experienced blood clots as a result of taking sleeping aids.  Consult your doctor before you take sleeping pills during a flight.

Bookmark